George Washington's Birthday became a Federal holiday in 1880. In 1888 and 1894, respectively, Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) and Labor Day were created. In 1938, Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) was created to mark the end of World War I.
On June 30, 1973, Archie Turner was the last known person drafted into the US Army. Though he did not choose to join the Army, he chose to stay.
Eventually this practice was ruled unfair (to people who couldn't afford college), so the college exemption was eliminated. In 1969 the Selective Service organized a lottery to decide which boys would be drafted into the military.