Which president made thanksgiving a national holiday

President Roosevelt ignored those concerns in , but when Thanksgiving once again threatened to fall on the last day of November in , FDR reconsidered the request and moved the date of Thanksgiving up one week. Thanksgiving would be held, President Roosevelt proclaimed, on November 23rd and not November 30th. Changing the date of Thanksgiving seemed harmless enough, but in actuality proved quite controversial.

It was so upsetting that thousands of letters poured into the White House once President Roosevelt announced the date change.

Some retailers were pleased because they hoped the extra week of Christmas shopping would increase profits, but smaller businesses complained they would lose business to larger stores.

Other companies that depended on Thanksgiving as the last Thursday of November lost money; calendar makers were the worst hit because they printed calendars years in advance and FDR made their calendars out of date for the next two years. Schools were also disrupted by Roosevelt's decision; most schools had already scheduled vacations and annual Thanksgiving Day football games by the time they learned of Thanksgiving's new date and had to decide whether or not to reschedule everything.

Moreover, many Americans were angry that Roosevelt tried to alter such a long-standing tradition and American values just to help businesses make more money. As opposition grew, some states took matters into their own hands and defied the Presidential Proclamation. Some governors declared November 30th as Thanksgiving.

And so, depending upon where one lived, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the 23rd and the 30th. A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin" - the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution.

Subsequent presidents issued Thanksgiving Proclamations, but the dates and even months of the celebrations varied. It wasn't until President Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November. In , however, the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month.

Concerned that the shortened Christmas shopping season might dampen the economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a Presidential Proclamation moving Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November.

Mount Vernon is open days a year, including Thanksgiving Day! Bring your family and friends to the home of the first president. Walk the grounds, explore the museum, and meet our special holiday visitor: Aladdin the camel. George Washington knew the value of a thanksgiving day long before becoming our first president.

Thank Days Even in the 18th century, the concept of thanksgiving was not new to the citizens of the new United States.