President's Day, More than just a Holiday

The first president, George Washington, and the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, had several similarities: they both wanted to free the slaves; their fathers passed on while the future presidents were quite young; their education was limited to three years or less; both fought wars for their country.

Washington was 11 when his father passed away and that was the end of his schooling as the father was his teacher. The family could ill afford young George to attend school in England.

As Washington aged, he began to abhor the institution of slavery but chose not to act on it until close to his de...