Posted by Orin Kerr:
History of Memorial Day:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_05_29-2005_06_04.shtml#1117468401
Today is of course Memorial Day, and I hope folks will take a bit of
time off from enjoying their barbeques and picnics to recall why this
day exists. [1]Here is a bit about the history of Memorial Day:
Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day of
remembrance for those who have died in service to our country. It
began during the Civil War when organized women's groups in several
towns throughout the South decorated the graves of the Confederate
war dead with flowers, wreaths and flags. Memorial Day was
officially proclaimed on May 5th, 1868 by General John Logan,
national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his
General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868.
Interestingly, the Civil War origins of Memorial Day [2]still have
an impact on its observance:
By 1890 [Memorial Day] was recognized by all of the northern
states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their
dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday
changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War
to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now
celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed
by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363)
to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several
southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the
Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and
June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
References
1. http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/history/
2. http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
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