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George Washington was
born February 22, 1732.
George Washington was
the first President of
the United States of
America. He took his
oath of office as the
President of the United
States on April 30,
1789.
In 1968, legislation
(HR 15951) was enacted
that affected several
federal holidays. One of
these was Washington's
Birthday, the
observation of which was
shifted to the third
Monday in February each
year whether or not it
fell on the 22nd. This
act was designed to
simplify the yearly
calendar of holidays.
In 1971 President
Richard Nixon proclaimed
the third Monday of
February to be a federal
holiday. Although
popularly known as
Presidents' Day,
according to federal law
it is the official
observance of
Washington's Birthday.
It should be noted
that some people
consider John Hanson as
our first president
since he was our first
president after the
signing of our
Declaration of
Independence. While it
is true that he was
elected President of the
United States in 1781,
this election was under
what was known as the
Articles of
Confederation. His exact
title was the "President
of the United States in
Congress Assembled".
In our country, as
with most modern
republics, the President
is the head of state,
and also serves the
functions of chief
executive and commander
in chief of the armed
forces. John Hanson and
the seven other
presidents that followed
him held few powers that
are now associated with
the U.S. presidency and
cannot be considered to
have been heads of state
or the "Chief
Executive". The true
head of state of a
country is a person who
represents the country
in diplomatic protocol.
This person would be
responsible for sending
and receiving
ambassadors. John Hanson
and the other seven men
were simply heads of
government with Congress
holding all executive
powers.
George Washington
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