Presidents' Day

Email to a friend with a personal message

Barbara J. Feldman

Although the federal government still calls the holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February, Washington's Birthday, most people (and many states) call it Presidents' Day. Presidents' Day began as a holiday honoring George Washington and then both Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and has evolved into a day commemorating all U.S. Presidents. Who were these men? How did they shape our country? To answer these questions, and many more, I found the following five sites.

American Presidency

3 stars

Grolier Online presents "a celebration of the history of the nation's highest office" culled from a number of their encyclopedias. Beginning at a third-grade level (and progressing to high school and beyond), you'll find biographies, quick fact browsers and articles on topics such as unsuccessful presidential hopefuls. Best clicks are the Presidential Gallery of video and sound clips, and the multiple-choice quizzes. "Who was the last president to be born in a log cabin?"

The American President

5 stars

AmericanPresident.org is a non-partisan resource on the history and function of the American presidency published by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. You'll find great stuff for school reports on any particular president under Presidency in History. My favorite clicks are the presidential photos and bios. Information about the "function, responsibilities, and organization of the modern presidency" can be found in Presidency in Action.

Inside the White House

3 stars

"First day on the job! You got the nomination, you campaigned, you won. Then you took the oath of office, made the first speech of your administration, and danced the night away. But now it's morning in America -- time to face the Oval Office. It's YOUR chance to be President of the United States. Let's see how you do." Other fun clicks include silly things White House children have done (go to Kids) or the clickable map of the White House neighborhood (choose Mapping.) Teachers will like the grade-level classroom activities found under Learn More.

The Presidents

5 stars

From Washington to Clinton, visit for presidential bios, vital stats and highlights of their era. Elementary school students have their own site (look for the Kids link in either the upper or lower nav bar) where you'll find Secrets of Presidents. "My dog was banned from the White House because it did you-know-what on the floor of the diplomatic reception room!" Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Presidents' Day or Washington's Birthday

5 stars

Fact Monster explains the difference between federal and state holidays, and tries to clear up the confusion between Presidents' Day and Washington's Birthday. There's also a paragraph about the Monday Holidays Act of 1968 that moved the celebration of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. In the Related Links sidebar, you'll find links to lots of presidential stuff such as Presidential Factfile, Presidential Trivia, and Presidential Gallery.