Daylight Saving Time ends

In an effort to conserve resources for the efforts of World War I, Congress approved a law that altered each U. S. time zone's standard time by moving clocks ahead by one hour. The plan, known as Daylight Saving Time (DST) lasted only seven months and was very unpopular because most Americans at that time awoke earlier and went to bed later than we do now. The law was eventually repealed.

In the early stages of World War II, Congress decided to return the country to Daylight Saving Time in order to conserve energy. During this period, the United States observed DST continuously from February 2, 1942 until September 30, 1945.

Following the war, states and municipalities were allowed to observe DST at their discretion. This created a great deal of confusion for the broadcasting industry and for many transportation companies because DST was not observed uniformly. Therefore, Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966. The law simply states that if DST is going to be observed, it must be done in a uniform manner. The Act established the beginning of DST as the last Sunday in April and the end of DST as the last Sunday of October. In 1986, an amendment (Public Law 99-359) to the Act changed the beginning date to the first Sunday in April.

States may choose whether or not they will observe DST. States and territories who do not observe DST include Arizona, Hawaii, the Eastern Time Zone section of Indiana, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

For a summary of the advantages of Daylight Saving Time, read Saving Time, Saving Energy by Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission.