On the first Sunday in November, clocks go back one hour to standard time at 2 a.m. On the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m., clocks move forward one hour in most of the United States and many other countries, remaining in what is known as Daylight Saving Time for nearly eight months.

The current March-November system that the U.S. follows was introduced in 2007, but the concept of “daylight conservation” is much older. Daylight saving time has its origins in train schedules, but was introduced in Europe and the United States to save fuel and electricity during World War I, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

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Reasons for summer time

During most of World War II, the United States observed daylight saving time permanently. The idea was implemented to save fuel and maintain the standard. When the war ended in 1945, Gallup asked respondents how we should tell time. Only 17% wanted to keep what was then called “war time” all year round.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, we tried again to permanently introduce daylight saving time in the winter of 1973/74. The idea, again, was to save fuel. It was a popular move back when President Richard Nixon signed the law in January 1974. But at the end of the month, Florida’s governor called for the law to be repealed after eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark. Schools across the country delayed the start of classes until the sun rose.

By the summer, public approval had fallen sharply, and in early October, Congress voted to switch back to standard time.

In the United States, states are not required by law to “step back” or “step forward.” Hawaii, most of Arizona, and some areas of the Pacific and Caribbean do not observe daylight saving time. The twice-yearly change is so irritating to lawmakers of all political stripes that the U.S. Senate passed a bill in March 2022 to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill was passed unanimously.

House Democrats did not vote on the bill in 2022. On March 2, 2023, a dozen senators forming a bipartisan group reintroduced legislation that would eliminate the time change in favor of permanent daylight saving time. A companion bill to the Sunshine Protection Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican from Florida.

Why do we need daylight saving time?