While the origins of the thanksgiving holiday are often connected to stories of colonial America, George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789 laid the foundation for thanksgiving celebrations on the last Thursday of November.1 While an annual thanksgiving holiday would not become a federal holiday until 1863 under a proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, Washington’s ideas for such a holiday led to advocacy for it to become a federal holiday throughout the nineteenth century.
Colonial Origins of Thanksgiving
Americans traditionally recognize the "first" Thanksgiving as having taken place at Plymouth colony in the autumn of 1621. The Separatist Puritan settlers of Plymouth, known as Pilgrims, held a feast after their first harvest as a way of thanking God for their blessings. Invited to their observance were members of the neighboring Wampanoag tribe, among whom such a harvest celebration was also neither unfamiliar. This celebration did not create a long lasting alliance between colonists and nearby Native American nations. In the present day, some Native Americans view the thanksgiving holiday as a day of mourning. The 1621 thanksgiving celebration, however, did not become an annual event; rather, residents of Plymouth and the other colonies held days of thanksgiving and fasting over the years, at different times of year for a variety of reasons.
Victory Celebrations Throughout the American Revolution
During the American Revolution, the practice of celebrated thanksgivings took on a new meaning. Colonial legislatures set aside days of prayer to recognize military victories against the British army. After British General John Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777, the Continental Congress suggested that a national day be set aside to recognize the victory. Commander of the Continental Army, General George Washington agreed, proclaiming December 18, 1777 as the first national thanksgiving day. The Continental Congress supported similar thanksgiving proclamations through 1784.
Creating a National Thanksgiving Holiday
In 1789, Representative Elias Boudinot from New Jersey presented a resolution requesting that Congress persuade the now-President Washington to declare a thanksgiving observance in honor of the ratification of the new United States Constitution. Congress agreed and passed the resolution creating a joint committee to make their request to the president.
Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day, writing, “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.”2
Not ignoring the authority of state governments, Washington distributed his proclamation to the governors, requesting that they announce and observe the day within their states. Newspapers throughout the country subsequently published the proclamation and public celebrations were held. Washington himself marked the day by attending services at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City, and by donating beer and food to imprisoned debtors in the city.
Thanksgiving Becomes a Federal Holiday
The 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation, however, did not establish a permanent federal holiday. Washington issued another, similar proclamation in February 1795 to recognize the defeat of the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania.3 Many advocated for a permanent celebration of Thanksgiving in the decades to follow.
Later presidents, including John Adams and James Madison, declared days of thanksgiving. But it was not until the American Civil War that President Lincoln initiated a regular observance of Thanksgiving in the United States in through his October, 3 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation to unify the nation. In doing so, he established the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
T. K. Byron, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History Dalton State College, updated by Zoie Horecny, Ph.D., 7 May 2025
Notes:
1. “Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives.
2. “Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives.
3. “Proclamation, 1 January 1795,” Founders Online, National Archives.
Bibliography:
Baker, James W. Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday. University of New Hampshire Press, 2010.
Ferling, John. The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009.
Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. George Washington: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO, 2002.
Harris, Matthew and Thomas Kidd. The Founding Fathers and the Debate over Religion in Revolutionary America: A History in Documents. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Silverman, David J. This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
