Tales from the Archives: Celebrating Presidents Day in the Americana Collection

Happy Presidents Day! The history of what is now Presidents Day began in the 1880s when George Washington’s birthday was first celebrated as a federal holiday. In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the country’s workers. It was then that the intent of the holiday was expanded first to include Abraham Lincoln and eventually to honor all U.S. presidents.

The DAR Americana Collection, which houses mostly pre-1830 manuscripts pertaining to the history of ordinary Americans, also includes a special collection of U.S. presidents’ signatures. The presidential items include correspondence, orders, and autographs. Featured here are just a few of these fascinating treasures.

This remarkable letter was donated to NSDAR in 1961 by the Mary Washington Colonial Chapter in New York City. The letter, written by General George Washington to General Jedidiah Huntington in 1783, discusses the latter’s retirement from the army. It reads, in part: “Permit me, my dear Sir, to take this opportunity of expressing to you my obligations for the support and assistance I have, in the course of the war, received from your abilities and attachment to me.” (Americana Collection, acc. 3361)

This printed document is a pass signed by President James Madison on March 10, 1812, for the “Brig Olivia of Charleston” to sail “without any hinderance” during the mounting tensions between the Americans and the British. In fact, the Americans formally declared war on Great Britain only about three months later. Unfortunately, we have no reliable information regarding how or when the DAR acquired this document. (Americana Collection, acc. 1600x-4)