Washington’s First Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789)
On October 3, 1789, President George Washington set aside a national day of thanks. He wrote: “I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be”.
Among the blessings he listed: “the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge”.
He signed it “at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.”
A good reminder to count our blessings around the table this month.
Source: Founders Online (National Archives), Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0091 (opened Nov 1, 2026).