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Thanksgiving Proclamation

[New York, 3 October 1789]
Page Image.

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

Well said, George. Happy Thanksgiving to You too. :)
 
Did You Know?
Amazing Thanksgiving Facts

DYK? powered by Prof. Walter… that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida?

… that on December 4, 1619, 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred, which comprised about 8,000 acres on the north bank of the James River, near Herring Creek, in an area then known as Charles Cittie, about 20 miles upstream from Jamestown, where the first permanent settlement of the Colony of Virginia had been established on May 14, 1607? The group's charter required that the day of arrival be observed yearly as a "day of thanksgiving" to God. On that first day, Captain John Woodleaf held the service of thanksgiving.

…that the Mayflower, carrying 102 settlers, left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620 and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts on December 21, 1620?

… that the original festival was probably held in early October 1621 and was celebrated by the 53 surviving Pilgrims, along with American Indian, Massasoit and 90 of his men, was more properly termed a "harvest festival" than a “thanksgiving”?

… that the Pilgrims were particularly thankful to Squanto, the American Indian who taught them how to catch eel and grow corn and who served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English as a slave in Europe and travels in England)?

… that the Pilgrims held an even greater Thanksgiving celebration, after a switch from communal farming to privatized farming, a fast, and a refreshing 14-day rain resulted in a larger harvest, on Wednesday, July 30, 1623?

… that the Massachusetts Bay Colony (consisting mainly of Puritan Christians) celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in 1630, and frequently thereafter until about 1680, when it became an annual festival in that colony?

… that Connecticut celebrated “thanksgiving” as early as 1639 and annually after 1647, except in 1675?

…that the Dutch in New Netherland appointed a day for giving thanks in 1644 and occasionally thereafter.

… that Charlestown, Massachusetts held the first recorded Thanksgiving observance June 29, 1671 by proclamation of the town's governing council.

… that George Washington, leader of the revolutionary forces in the American Revolutionary War, proclaimed a Thanksgiving in December 1777 as a victory celebration honoring the defeat of the British at Saratoga.

… that as President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made a proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America.

… that in the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863 and since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States?

… that Abraham Lincoln's successors as president followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving; however, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with this tradition because November had five Thursdays that year (instead of the usual four), and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving rather than the fifth one?

… that on December 26, 1941 President Roosevelt signed this bill, for the first time making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law.

… that United States tradition compares the holiday with a meal held in 1621 by the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts and it has continued in modern times with the Thanksgiving dinner, traditionally featuring turkey, playing a large role in the celebration of Thanksgiving.

… that stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, maize, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner and all of these primary dishes are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived.
… that the Detroit Lions of the National Football League have hosted a game every Thanksgiving Day since 1934, with the exception of 1939- 1944 (due to World War II)?

... that the American winter holiday season (generally the Christmas shopping season in the U.S.) traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving called “Black Friday”?

Did You Know? Amazing Thanksgiving Facts
 

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