Feb. 1 is National Freedom Day
What holiday is celebrated on Feb. 1? It’s National Freedom Day. The purpose of this holiday is to promote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom.
Major Richard Robert Wright Sr., a former slave, fought to have a day when freedom for all Americans is celebrated. When Wright got his freedom, he went on to become a successful businessman and community leader in Philadelphia. He chose Feb. 1 as National Freedom Day because it was the day in 1865 that President Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment – the amendment to outlaw slavery – to the Constitution.
Wright gathered national and local leaders together to write a bill declaring Feb. 1 “National Freedom Day,” and President Harry Truman signed the bill in 1948 to make it official.