In the late 1860's, many town spread across the states had begun tributes in the spring. Those tributes were for the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. These tributes gradually became known as Memorial Day and unlike today where we honor all soldiers, in the 1860's this tribute was solely for those who lost their live in the Civil War. It wasn't until World War One that the United States started honoring all of those who fell during all the wars on Memorial Day.
May 5, 1868 was the day General John A. Logan, the leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, declared that May 30th would be used as the day to put flowers on the graves of the fallen. However, in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971. This act declared that the last Monday in May is Memorial Day and which, that created a three day weekend for federal employees. This act also declared Memorial Day to be a federal holiday.
Waterloo, New York was declared the official birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966. Waterloo first began the celebration on May 5, 1866 and it was declared the birthplace because of the fact it hosted a community wide event where businesses closed and everyone put flowers and flags upon the fallen's graves.
Remember, Memorial Day is meant to remember the ones who have fallen in battle and whether you like history or not, also remember "some gave all."
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