Harvest festivals have existed in human culture since the beginning of agriculture, but the tradition of a thanksgiving celebration in the United States dates to the periodic days issued by Congress during the Revolutionary War. George Washington issued the first national proclamation in 1789; he issued another in 1795. None of these holidays were set on a particular day, but in general they occurred in October or November. After Washington, presidents sporadically proclaimed days of thanksgiving. The national holiday can be traced to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Ladies Magazine. Beginning 1827, she called for a day for teh nation to celebrate based on the official day of thanksgiving New York State had begun in 1817. By the 1840s, when this invitation was made, most of the New England and mid-Atlantic states celebrated Thanksgiving, but it did not become a national holiday until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that it would be observed annually on the last Thursday of each November. It was common in the early to mid-19th century to hold “assemblies” or balls as part of the celebrations.
Merrill, Joseph. Thanksgiving Assembly. November 5, 1845. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-062/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.