Thanksgiving was not made by one individual; it evolved from various harvest festivals and days of thanks in colonial America, particularly in New England, before being established as a national holiday through presidential proclamations. Abraham Lincoln is credited with making Thanksgiving a formal, recurring national holiday in 1863.
Colonial and Religious Beginnings
- Thanksgiving rituals date back to the early 1600s, with religious services and harvest celebrations by settlers in Virginia and Massachusetts.
- The 1621 harvest feast by the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Wampanoag tribe is popularly regarded as the "first Thanksgiving," though similar days were observed earlier by other groups, including Spanish explorers in Florida in 1565.
Role of U.S. Presidents
- George Washington proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving in 1789 to give thanks for the successful ratification of the Constitution.
- Several presidents issued similar proclamations, but Thanksgiving did not become an annual holiday until Abraham Lincoln declared it a recurring national observance during the Civil War in 1863.
- Later, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the Holidays Act in 1870, making Thanksgiving a yearly federal holiday.
Sarah Josepha Hale’s Influence
- Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, campaigned for an annual Thanksgiving holiday by publishing articles and lobbying leaders from the 1820s until Lincoln’s proclamation succeeded.
In summary, Thanksgiving was shaped by communities, colonial harvest festivals, influential advocates like Sarah Josepha Hale, and historic presidential proclamations, becoming an official annual celebration through Abraham Lincoln's leadership.