Today in Legal History blog

What to know what happened on this day in law or government? If so, check out Today in Legal History blog. Today in Legal History is a collaboration between FindLaw and Justice Talking.

Resources about Martin Luther King, Jr.

ResourceShelf provides A Collection of Web Resources For Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2007. See also the Librarians' Internet Index list of recommended websites on Martin Luther King.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with the Original Proclamation

On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789, be set aside as a day of public thanksgiving by the people of the United States. You can see an image of Washington's original letter which contained this first Thanksgiving Proclamation (and read a transcription of this proclamation) by visiting the Papers of George Washington project website maintained by the University of Virginia's Alderman Library.

Thanks to Ernster the Virtual Library Cat of Hofstra's Deane Law Library for pointing the way.

History of Memorial Day

What we now know as Memorial Day began in 1868 when Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of Union veterans), designated the 30th day of May "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion ...." General Order #11.

Originally known as Decoration Day, by the end of the 19th century May 30 was called Memorial Day and observed throughout the nation. (See Jt. Res. 6, 49th Cong., February 23, 1887, 24 Stat. 644.) After World War I, the observance was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. (See Pres. Proc. of May 3, 1921, 42 Stat. 2239.)

In 1950, Congress called on the President to issue an annual proclamation designating May 30, Memorial Day, as a day for a nation-wide prayer for permanent peace. (Pub. L. 81-512, 64 Stat. 158, 36 U.S.C. 116.) Since 1971, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday in May. (Pub. L. 90-363, 80 Stat. 515, 5 U.S.C. 6103.)

The image above is from the Library of Congress, Civil War Photographs collection. Historical information is from the Library of Congress, "Today in History" for May 30, and from the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Memorial Day History.