On this day in history, May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
(above) issued a proclamation for Americans to show a public expression of reverence to mothers through the celebration of
Mother’s Day.

"Proclamation 1268 – Mother’s Day" stated, in part, "Whereas,
by a Joint Resolution approved May 8, 1914, designating the
second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, and for other purposes,
the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation
calling upon the government officials to display the United
States flag on all government buildings," according to The
American Presidency Project of the University of California
Santa Barbara.

The proclamation continued, "And the people of the United
States [can] display the flag at their homes or other suitable
places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression
of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis
(September 30, 1832 – May 9, 1905)

The first unofficial Mother’s Day observances
were organized by West Virginia resident Anna
Jarvis and held in Grafton, West Virginia, and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

On October 3, 1863, expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army
victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announced that
the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on
November 26, 1863.

The speech, which was actually written by Secretary of State
William Seward, declared that the fourth Thursday of every
November thereafter would be considered an official U.S.
holiday of Thanksgiving.

William Henry Seward
(May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872)

President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation.

On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation. Attempting to stitch together a nation mired in
a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln made a last-ditch, but
carefully calculated, decision regarding the institution of
slavery in America.

On October 3, 1863, expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army
victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announced that
the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on
November 26, 1863.

The speech, which was actually written by Secretary of State
William Seward, declared that the fourth Thursday of every
November thereafter would be considered an official U.S. holiday
of Thanksgiving.

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a
preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for
the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved in the United
States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.