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By Quinn Blair-Heim
Presidents’ Day this year was February 17th. It was created and celebrated to honor the birthdays of notable US presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, which are February 22nd and February 12th, respectively. It's also a day to recognize all US presidents in general. Presidents' Day symbolizes the contributions of US presidents and the values of democracy, including leadership, civic responsibility, and the rule of law. It's also a day to reflect on the challenges faced by presidents and their roles in guiding the country. All this to say, how much do we really know about the 45 men who have served as president?
In a form, the students of Kenmore West were asked to name as many presidents as they could remember off the top of their heads. On average, every student could name around 13 presidents. That’s around 28%.
But either way, it doesn’t really matter how many presidents you can name. That’s more of a trivia fun fact than anything. What I wanted to know is, out of all 45 men who took up the presidency, who did the students of Kenmore West think was the most important?
The answer was, overwhelmingly, George Washington. Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama came in a close second and third. “George Washington. He set a lot of precedents for the other presidents as he was the first and he wasn’t overly clouded by politics like modern-day presidents,” said Senior Bridget Pengelly.
According to Freshman Joe Riggie, “I think the most important president was Abraham Lincoln because he was able to hold together the country and keep the South from seceding. Even though he was killed, he unified the country, passed the Emancipation Proclamation, and ended the Civil War. Without him, America might have been very different today.”
When asked who the most impactful president was, similar results were given. “As sitting president, FDR was the most impactful president because of his leadership to get the country out of the Great Depression and then involving us in a war. Also, after his terms, a new law was made so a president could only serve 2 terms because he served [nearly] 4,” replied 8th grader Peter Koudounas.
Presidents’ Day is a holiday that often gets passed over. In fact, multiple states in our union don’t celebrate it at all! Either way, Presidents’ Day acknowledges and honors the work of all the heads of state that our country has had throughout history, from the first president to the forty-seventh.
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