The President Woodrow Wilson House celebrated Presidents’ Day by opening the house museum on Monday for guided tours where visitors had the chance to visit with President Wilson himself. Well, you may ask, what or who is Presidents’ Day meant to honor? The day was originally celebrated as George Washington’s birthday on February 22nd, and moved to the third Monday of every February in 1971.
|President Wilson on Presidents' Day 2014|
Some places still celebrate President’s Day in honoring only George Washington. Some places also honor Abraham Lincoln in Presidents’ Day (his birthday is on February 12). (Note the various changes in punctuation of President’s/ Presidents/ Presidents’ Day.) But even though this day was technically not created in celebration of all of the Presidents, many Americans take this opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the great Presidents that have influenced our country.
On the tour at the President Woodrow Wilson House, Wilson spoke to visitors on the President’s role in America. He quoted from his book The President of the United States, which he wrote in 1916, “greatly as the practice and influence of Presidents has varied, there can be no mistaking the fact that we have grown more and more inclined from generation to generation to look to the President as the unifying force in our complex system, the leader both of his party and of the union”.
Many great Presidents have come after Washington and Lincoln that we look to as the “unifying force” of their time, and their successes are worth noting. The President Woodrow Wilson House showcases the life of Mr. Wilson and all of the things he did as President for the United States of America.
The video below, from YouTube user TheUsPresidents, highlights Woodrow Wilson’s life and the accomplishments of his career. There really is a lot to celebrate about our 28th President!