Remembering the True Meaning of Memorial Day: A Call to Honor Sacrifice and Democracy

Frederick Douglass regarded Decoration Day—the original name for Memorial Day—as the nation’s most meaningful holiday. On May 30, 1871, during the fourth annual commemoration, he paid tribute to the unknown Union soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Addressing President Grant, his cabinet, and a gathering of dignitaries amidst graves adorned with spring blooms, Douglass emphasized the profound impact of the Civil War. The presence of the Union's victorious commander at Arlington, once the estate of the recently deceased Confederate General Robert E. Lee, underscored the lingering shadow of the conflict.

Despite the solemnity of the occasion, Douglass expressed concern that the sacrifices and the very purpose of the approximately 400,000 Northern soldiers who perished might fade from collective memory. He urged the nation to remember not only the valor and sacrifice of these men but also what they fought to achieve. “If the nation forgets the cause for which they died,” he implored, “what then shall men remember?”

Douglass reiterated that these soldiers gave their lives for their country—specifically, for the abolition of the “hell-black system of human bondage” and for a nation that symbolized “the hope of freedom and self-government throughout the world.” He stressed the importance of preserving the meaning behind their sacrifice, not merely commemorating the act itself.

Decoration Day was established to honor those who fought for America’s promise—a “new birth of freedom” envisioned by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, delivered amidst the ongoing war to dedicate a soldiers’ cemetery. Douglass echoed Lincoln’s words, reminding the nation that the president and hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers had died defending a nation founded on the principle that all men are created equal. Douglass dedicated his life to ensuring their deaths were not in vain.

Over time, Decoration Day became firmly embedded in the national calendar. In 1868, the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a powerful Union veterans’ organization, officially proclaimed the observance. By 1890, all Union states had adopted it. Following World War I, the day expanded to honor all American war dead. In 1967, Congress renamed it Memorial Day and, four years later, moved its observance to the last Monday in May to create a long weekend. However, the holiday’s original purpose has often been overshadowed by its modern association with summer leisure rather than solemn remembrance.

Douglass’s question—“What shall men remember?”—resonates more than ever. At a time when national divisions echo those of the Civil War era, it is crucial to revisit the responsibilities entrusted to us by Douglass and Lincoln. Between 1861 and 1865, nearly 2.7 million mostly volunteer soldiers risked everything to preserve the Union as a beacon of democracy during a period when representative government was under threat worldwide. Today, democracy faces renewed challenges globally, undermined by authoritarian regimes and skepticism even from some leaders at home. Yet, in 1861, ordinary citizens from all corners of the nation fought because they believed, as Lincoln declared, that “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”