How Did Thanksgiving Become a National Holiday?
It was more difficult than one might think. In its early history, Thanksgiving Day was more of a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force in the United States. The Continental Congress periodically issued Thanksgiving proclamations during the Revolutionary War, but after the U.S. federal government was established in 1789, Thanksgiving celebrations became contentious. Many Americans objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance—in New England “Thanksgivings” were days of prayer thanking God for blessings—and Southerners were slow to adopt a Northern custom. Others took offense at the day being used for partisan speeches and parades.
With sectional tensions heightened in the mid-19th century, Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of the popular magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving Day to promote unity. She finally won the support of Pres. Abraham Lincoln. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. Presidents thereafter continued to issue annual proclamations. In 1941 during World War II, Congress passed a joint resolution officially designating Thanksgiving as a federal holiday and setting the date as the fourth Thursday in November. It was signed by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 26, 1941.
