Three People with Much in Common: by Ryan Robinson
February is a month that everyone loves to hate for several reasons. Even with all the snow we’ve had this year, February is historically the time we get the most precipitation of the winter. In addition, statistics show that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions in the month of February. On the bright side, there are nice and fun holidays like Groundhog’s Day and Valentine’s Day to occupy our time to ignore the cold and the dreariness of winter. However, this month is a great time to teach your family, your kids, and maybe even re-teach yourself about three great men that helped form and change our nation. It just so happens that three great presidents are celebrating their birthdays this month, but sadly all of them not here on this Earth anymore. They have all impacted America and every citizen should know about these men.
First off, is the most recent President on this list that most of you probably remember is Mr. Ronald Reagan. On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. In college, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood and for the next two decades, he appeared in 53 films. Reagan soon became the president of the Screen Actors Guild, and became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry. This is when his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes, he was re-elected in 1970, and he won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 that swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan sought to achieve “peace through strength” and kept the United States out of war. At the end of his administration, the nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression. He was also known as the “Great Communicator” for his ability to talk to the American people and people around the world in a way everyone could understand and connect with. Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.*
Another great president celebrating a birthday this month is Abraham Lincoln. The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. He was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families. Lincoln said of his childhood, “It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up…. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher … but that was all.” Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, “His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest.” In 1858 Lincoln ran for Senator and lost the election; but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860. After winning the presidency, on January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. Lincoln strongly believed in America and stated, “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Even after his death, his policies and beliefs changed America forever.*
Even before Reagan and Lincoln, we have to celebrate and thank one of the founding fathers and the first president, George Washington. George was born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, and learned morals, manners, and much knowledge. He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16, he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax and became a lieutenant colonel in 1754. Washington fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War and the next year, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him. Later on, after many colonists were calling for a rebellion, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions. When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Washington then longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon, but seeing the country was going downhill, he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. Washington was a war hero, a founder of this great nation, and important in moving America forward.*
These three great men through different centuries of American history changed our country forever for the better. While everyone is watching the Super Bowl and complaining about the cold, take the time to remember and thank those great men who gave their life and time for our country. Educate yourself and teach your kids and grandkids about these great men and the many other great presidents in-between.
Happy Birthday Mr. Presidents!
*NOTE: Information about President Reagan, President Lincoln, and President Washington were all from the websites of their presidential libraries and whitehouse.gov. Most of the text about these presidents was word for word except for a few exceptions in which I reworded and reorganized . This is because I’d like for you to share the real facts about these great men and pass it along for generations to come. Enjoy.