On October 3, 1789, George Washington signed the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in United States history. The document was issued in New York, and Thursday, November 26 of that year, was designated as a day of thanksgiving and prayer.
The date is often associated with the beginning of the American national holiday, but it is not the first celebration of Thanksgiving in the territory of the future United States. Similar days had been declared since the colonial period, and the Continental Congress and military authorities had designated separate days of thanksgiving during the Revolutionary War.
Congress sets the stage
On September 28, 1789, the first Congress under the new Constitution passed a resolution asking the president to recommend to the American people a day of general thanksgiving and prayer. A few days later, Washington issued the proclamation.
The U.S. National Archives identifies the event as the first observance of Thanksgiving under the new Constitution. In the document, the president cited as a reason for gratitude the opportunity for Americans to peacefully establish a form of government that would ensure their security and happiness.
“I recommend and ordain Thursday, the 26th of November, to be dedicated by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being“, Washington wrote.The proclamation also mentioned peace, unity, abundance, civil and religious liberty, as well as the opportunity for the acquisition and dissemination of useful knowledge. The day was intended not only as a public celebration, but also as a time for prayer and reflection.
The holiday became annual much later
After Washington, Presidents John Adams and James Madison declared separate national days of thanksgiving, but the tradition did not immediately become annual. According to the Library of Congress, not every president after 1789 continued the practice.
Abraham Lincoln reinstated the national presidential proclamation in 1863. Later, in 1941, Congress designated the fourth Thursday in November as a federal holiday. Thus, the one-time day, declared by Washington on October 3, 1789, gradually became one of America's most enduring national traditions.
Sources: archives.gov, loc.gov