Which US President Made Thanksgiving a National Holiday?

George Washington and the First Official Thanksgiving for the United States of America

It is a well known fact of Thanksgiving Day history that the first thanksgiving (at least in America) was celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, the first time Thanksgiving became a national holiday in the United States was when President George Washington issued his now famous Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. The Thanksgiving Day tradition thus began.

Thanksgiving Day Tradition

Following 1621, it became customary for various colonies (and later states) to issue calls for national days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. Sometimes, these days would feature celebratory meals, but usually the focus was on meditative prayer and thanksgiving. According to the American history website Archiving Early America, "A Thanksgiving Day two hundred years ago was a day set aside for prayer and fasting, not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as is today's custom."

During the American Revolution, legislative calls for fasting, prayer, and thanksgiving intensified. According to the Library of Congress, "National days of thanksgiving and of 'humiliation, fasting, and prayer' were proclaimed by Congress at least twice a year throughout the war." This was in addition to those calls issued by state assemblies.

Congress Asks for a National Day of Thanksgiving

Victory in the Revolution brought the painful task of building a workable government. After several arduous years and the adoption of an intensely-debated new constitution, a national US government began operations in 1789. (While there was a national government of sorts under the Articles of Confederation, it was disastrously ineffective).

In 1791, Congress took up the task of adding to the new Constitution. Rep. James Madison (Virginia) honored a promise he had made during the ratification fights, and introduced twelve amendments to the Constitution. To make a long story short, ten of those amendments were passed by Congress and approved by the states during George Washington's presidency. Those ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.