Grades 3–5 · Put the events in order, from Washington's 1789 proclamation to the 1941 law that set the fourth Thursday.

How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

Washington's first Thanksgiving proclamation

1789 Proclamation

October 3, 1789: President George Washington issues the first Thanksgiving proclamation from the national government, naming Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of thanks.

Hale's campaign for Thanksgiving Day

1846 Campaign

1846: Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book magazine, begins a long campaign of articles and letters asking leaders for a national Thanksgiving Day.

Hale's request to Lincoln

1863 Letter to Lincoln

September 28, 1863: Hale writes to President Abraham Lincoln and asks him to make Thanksgiving a national holiday on a fixed day.

Lincoln declares Thanksgiving

Lincoln's Proclamation

October 3, 1863: During the Civil War, Lincoln proclaims the last Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving.

Celebration across the Union

First National Thanksgiving

November 26, 1863: Americans across the Union celebrate the new national Thanksgiving, and later presidents keep proclaiming it every year.

Thanksgiving moved to earlier date

Roosevelt's Change

1939: President Franklin D. Roosevelt moves Thanksgiving one week earlier, to the next-to-last Thursday, to make the holiday shopping season longer; many people object and some states keep the old date.

Thanksgiving fixed to fourth Thursday

1941 Law

December 26, 1941: Roosevelt signs a law that makes Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November every year (in 2026 that is November 26).