Congress did the nation a disservice in 1968 when it passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. In an effort to provide more three-day weekends, it changed the observable days for several holidays, and it consolidated the birthday observances for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln into one holiday that, although never officially given the name, many people refer to as Presidents Day.
This de-emphasized the incomparable leadership and character of two of the nation’s most important leaders. Given the hyper-partisan nature of politics these days, Americans could benefit greatly from pondering the lives of Washington and Lincoln.
Humble leadership
If one word were to describe the reason for the success of these two leaders, it would be something in short supply among traditional politicians: humility.
After his successful leadership of the Revolutionary War, Washington had a level of power and political capital enjoyed by few leaders. Many Americans saw him as indispensable. That is the kind of recipe that gives birth to dictators and tyrants.
Washington, however, understood this well. His loyalties were to his nation and its young and fragile Constitution. Eventually, he put meaning to those loyalties by voluntarily choosing not to run for a third term.
That set a precedent followed by every subsequent president until Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for a third term in 1940. Americans later amended the Constitution to make Washington’s precedent a legal term limit.
Washington never viewed power as something to collect, to cling to or to use as a bartering tool. He wasn’t interested in self-promotion or honors. He fully understood how the nation’s founding vested all power in the people.
Preserving the union
As for Lincoln, he learned to fully comprehend the sacrifices that were necessary to preserve the freedoms and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. His administration was defined by a series of excruciating decisions that resulted in many lives lost in order to preserve the union and end slavery. In the Gettysburg address, he aptly described these as “those who … gave their lives, that that nation might live.”
Lincoln had every reason to feel resentment and to thirst for vengeance against those in the Southern states who had rebelled against their government. And yet, his second inaugural address was a humble petition to God for the forgiveness of the nation’s sins. Instead of anger, he expressed contrition.
“With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations,” he said.
Washington’s farewell address, delivered in 1796, would serve as an appropriate text for any Presidents Day observance. He spoke with great insight about the need to avoid excessive partisanship, or factionalism, which he saw as dangerous. He cautioned against political parties. He was no isolationist, but he warned against “permanent alliances” with other nations.
Of his own presidency, Washington said, “In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government, the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable.”
Other presidents
Other presidents have, of course, done noble things and guided the nation through perilous times. But none was as foundational as Washington and Lincoln. They were, of course, not perfect men. They succeeded despite their imperfections and because of their humility and their trust in God.
The nation’s first president set the tone for the job and for the nation’s collective identity. The 16th made preservation of the union a non-negotiable principle, and he laid the foundation for a modern America, reinforcing the federal government’s ultimate authority to preserve itself.
Beginning in 1896, a member of the Senate has been chosen to read Washington’s farewell address on or near the first president’s birthday. Last year, it was read by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Maryland.
We regret that this tradition is not more widely known. All Americans would benefit from hearing this recitation.