Back when I was a schoolboy, we took a bit of time each February to remember the lives and deeds of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. That was the idea, at least; most of what we came away with however was little more than myth and triviality. Washington was scrupulously honest and had a youthful penchant for amateur small-scale logging; Lincoln wore an unusually tall hat and had a beard (I seem to recall something about slavery being mentioned as well).

The stated reasons for these annual presidential-themed lessons were the anniversaries of the respective birthdays of the two men; Washington’s on 22 February (originally 11 February on the then in use Julian calendar) 1731 and Lincoln’s on 12 February 1809. However as poor in quality as the schoolroom lessons about each of their lives may have been, I nevertheless vividly recall each as having been given his due – something that no longer seems to happen as both are now rolled into the three-day-long mattress and automobile sale known as President’s Day weekend.

More’s the pity. More than perhaps ever before, the history lessons American children are taught in school (when they are taught history lessons at all, that is; history largely having been supplanted by the amorphous category of “social studies”) are a jumble of disconnected facts swirled about with trivialities and false equivalencies. Too often the lives and deeds – to say nothing of the writings – of key figures are diminished or ignored entirely, making it very difficult indeed for most emerging from such lessons to understand what “all the fuss is about” when it comes to a number of the truly influential and important men and women of both the nation’s and the world’s history.

Therefore, always one who prefers to go right to the source whenever possible, I would like to propose a solution. For all those who, like I myself once did, find themselves feeling a bit less than well informed about just what it was that made George Washington and Abraham Lincoln such significant people in the history of the United States, I recommend picking up a copy of one of the Library of America‘s collections of their writings and giving it a thorough reading.

In the case of Washington, this would be the single volume collection of his journals (dating back to when he was sixteen years old), letters, orders, and speeches simply titled Writings. Of course, as most people today have minds filled with a host of jingoistic half-truths and myths about Washington, and as a result find him to be perhaps a bit obscure when considered as a real person, a “cleansing introduction” to the man might be beneficial prior to delving into his collected writings. For this purpose, I highly recommend a lecture delivered by Dr. Joanne Freeman titled “The Importance of George Washington” delivered as part of the History 116 course, recorded, and made available free of charge through the magnificent Yale Open Courses program.

Lincoln, on the other hand, is more easily met directly through his writings. Two volumes – Speeches and Writings 1832–1858 and Speeches and Writings 1859–1865 – contain all the great man’s best known published works as well as a remarkable collection of his letters that shine much light on the smaller but no less important details of his life, particularly in regard to the expansiveness of his intellect and the generosity of his soul.

For those who might like to explore still further into the writings of other former U.S. presidents, the Library also publishes the following volumes:

If we are truly to honor the presidents of the United States, we owe it to both their memory as well as to ourselves both individually and as a nation to be familiar with not just the facts of their respective administrations but with their lives and ideas as well. Reading through the Library of America volumes containing the collected works of many of those most frequently referenced in public discussions will go far toward honoring their work on behalf of the nation as well as ensuring that the ideas and ideals for which they stood – and in one case died – are not lost to inattention or indifference.