Veterans Day was established as a federal holiday, under its current name, on June 1, 1954. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation that amended an earlier act from 1938, changing the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. This legislative action expanded the holiday's scope to honor American veterans of all wars. The main point of the topic is centered on the proper noun "Veterans Day" and the specific date it was legally designated to honor all veterans, not just those from a single conflict.
The holiday's origin dates back to November 11, 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I. Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, officially recognizing this observance. Subsequently, an Act approved on May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday dedicated to the cause of world peace, formally known as "Armistice Day." After the mobilization of forces for World War II and the Korean War, veterans' service organizations advocated for a more inclusive commemoration.
Further legislation affected the observance date. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved the federal observance of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October, effective in 1971, to create a three-day weekend. However, the historical significance of the November 11 date proved to be of great importance to the public. In response, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law in 1975 which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, with the change taking effect in 1978. Since then, the holiday has been consistently observed on this historically significant date.
