1941 : FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving holiday
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing
the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the
early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, when
post-harvest holidays were celebrated on the weekday regularly set
aside as "Lecture Day," a midweek church meeting where topical sermons
were presented. A famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in the
autumn of 1621, when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited local
Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival held in gratitude
for the bounty of the season.
Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the
17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first
national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at
Saratoga. In 1789, President George Washington became the first
president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of
Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of national
thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until
1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on
the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated
nationally.
With a few deviations, Lincoln's precedent was followed annually by
every subsequent president--until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt
departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last
Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy
surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor
Roosevelt's declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated
the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his
mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth
Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1941 : FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving holiday
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=5552
1922 : Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7093
1965 : The world's fourth space power
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5553
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing
the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the
early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, when
post-harvest holidays were celebrated on the weekday regularly set
aside as "Lecture Day," a midweek church meeting where topical sermons
were presented. A famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in the
autumn of 1621, when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited local
Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival held in gratitude
for the bounty of the season.
Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the
17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first
national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at
Saratoga. In 1789, President George Washington became the first
president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of
Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of national
thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until
1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on
the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated
nationally.
With a few deviations, Lincoln's precedent was followed annually by
every subsequent president--until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt
departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last
Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy
surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor
Roosevelt's declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated
the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his
mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth
Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1941 : FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving holiday
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=5552
1922 : Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7093
1965 : The world's fourth space power
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5553
#########################################
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