On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1939, Franklin Roosevelt carved the turkey at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Warm Springs, Georgia, and wished all Americans across the country a Happy Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, his greeting went unanswered in some states; many Americans were not observing Thanksgiving on the same day as the President. Instead, they were waiting … Continue reading The Year Of Two Thanksgivings
By Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician New York, New York. Raymond [i.e. Raimondo] Fazio and his family receive a belated Christmas package from one of their four sons in the service. This one is in Africa. Fazio is a journalist and lives on East Tenth Street. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: https://lccn.loc.gov/2017841930. The end … Continue reading The Holiday Season of 1943
Thanksgiving during the War, 1943 During World War II, President Roosevelt made a number of trips to meet with foreign leaders to discuss the war effort and the postwar world. At the end of 1943, FDR traveled to Cairo, Egypt and Teheran, Iran to meet with Winston Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek and Joseph Stalin. The meeting … Continue reading Found in the Archives
The Thanksgiving Before War, 1941 It was Franklin Roosevelt's yearly tradition to go back to Warm Springs, Georgia, and celebrate Thanksgiving with the patients and staff at the polio rehabilitation center he had founded there. The patients would always prepare a little program with skits and songs, and FDR would carve the turkeys himself. Thanksgiving … Continue reading Found in the Archives
"Let's Talk Turkey" Poster (MO 2005.13.34.252) During World War II, the U.S. Government created a wide range of posters aimed at inspiring Americans to contribute to the war effort. Many concentrated on increasing defense production. As the war progressed, new initiatives and methods for improving production were embraced. Ideas were collected from all sources, … Continue reading From the Museum
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Thanksgiving Proclamation At the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, Thanksgiving was not a fixed holiday; it was up to the President to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation to announce what date the holiday would fall on. President Abraham Lincoln had declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November … Continue reading Found in the Archives
November 25, 1943 "WASHINGTON, Wednesday—...There are some on this Thanksgiving Day who will feel that everything for which they might be thankful is overshadowed by the loss of some young life, either in the process of training or in the actual fighting. But even to those who are sad, there is reason for thankfulness in … Continue reading Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day: November 22-30
November 23, 1939: Thanksgiving was celebrated today as by a proclamation by FDR setting the date one week earlier than normal. He moved the date up one week to help retailers since many people did not start their Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving, thereby giving them an extra week to shop.
August 19, 1939 "HYDE PARK, Friday—...I have noticed some comment in the newspapers on the change of the Thanksgiving Day date and today I get a most amusing letter attributing this change to a desire to help a certain race in this country, which is credited, in this note, with doing most of the "trading" … Continue reading Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day: August 15-21
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