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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).

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.

George Washington portrait

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

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.
Declaration of Independence

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.
George Washington's teeth

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.
Abraham Lincoln, 1858

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.
Abraham Lincoln inauguration, 1861

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.”
Lincoln's funeral in DC

Forgetting Abraham Lincoln

Martha Hodes
March 25, 2015
Sarah Browne’s neglect of Lincoln, compared with the ceaseless remembrance of her daughter, did not lessen her desolation over the assassination.
A stamp commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Recording History: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Matthew Wills
February 16, 2015
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 are a touchstone of American history.
Jefferson statue

What Are We to Make of Thomas Jefferson?

Peter Feuerherd
April 13, 2017
There is perhaps no more enigmatic figure in American history than Thomas Jefferson, born April 13, 1743. How should his legacy be understood today?
Jefferson and Adams

The First Ugly Election: America, 1800

Peter Feuerherd
July 4, 2016
The 1800 election saw America’s first contested presidential campaigns: Thomas Jefferson vs. John Adams.
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