A Presidents’ Day Roundup

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It’s a complicated holiday, Presidents’ Day. Marked at the federal level as George Washington’s birthday and at the state and city level as a commemoration of both Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birth, it’s a holiday that seems to gesture toward the presidency without ever settling on a singular office holder. Some states celebrate both Washington and Lincoln on the third Monday in February, some uplift only Washington’s memory. And at least one state throws Thomas Jefferson’s birthday into the mix, even though Jefferson wasn’t born in February (we’re looking at you, Alabama).

Weekly Newsletter

To help inform your celebration of Presidents’ Day, we’ve gathered some of our best JSTOR Daily stories on Washington, Lincoln, and related government documents. And like Alabama, we’re throwing in a bit of Jefferson, too.

What Is Presidents’ Day Actually About?

Livia Gershon

February 3, 2018

For most of American history, Washington’s Birthday was a really big deal, but, as scholar Barry Schwartz explains, that’s changed a lot since the middle of the twentieth century.

George Washington’s “Yelp Reviews”

Rachel Bernstein

April 18, 2018

Staying at inns allowed Washington to examine the state of the infrastructure for traveling in the new federal Republic. The only problem was, he hated it.

Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Matthew Wills

July 2, 2016

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson was not then credited with its authorship.

Facsimile of the original draft of the United States Declaration of Independence with images of the signers around the border.

The Declaration of Independence: Annotated

Liz Tracey

December 9, 2021

Related links to free scholarly context on JSTOR for the foundational document in American government.

Were George Washington’s Teeth Taken from Enslaved People?

Matthew Wills

February 25, 2020

We know a surprising amount about the dental history of the nation’s first president.

A colorized photograph of Abraham Lincoln in February of 1865

Abraham Lincoln’s Labor Theory of Value

Livia Gershon

July 20, 2024

Abraham Lincoln was no Marxist, but his ideas about the relationship of labor and capital mirrored Marx’s in some ways—albeit with a rural American flavor.

A print based on David Gilmour Blythe's fanciful painting of Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation: Annotated

Liz Tracey

January 1, 2022

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in America on January 1, 1863. Today, we've annotated the Emancipation Proclamation for readers.

Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas by Mrs. Charles Stephenson

Juneteenth and the Emancipation Proclamation

The Editors

June 18, 2020

The emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. took place over a protracted period. The articles in this curated list dig into the complicated history.

When and Where Did Abraham Lincoln Write the Gettysburg Address?

The Editors

November 19, 2019

Theories abound. Historian William H. Lambert considers the origin of the address and the mythology surrounding its composition.

The Most Contentious Presidential Transition in American History

Peter Feuerherd

November 22, 2016

Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?

Grand procession of Wide-Awakes in New York, October 3, 1860

Abolitionist “Wide Awakes” Were Woke Before “Woke”

Matthew Wills

June 29, 2020

“Now the old men are folding their arms and going to sleep,” said William H. Seward while campaigning for Lincoln, “and the young men are Wide Awake.”