George Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as the first presidential Thanksgiving day in the United States.
Washington issued the proclamation on October 3, 1789, in New York City, at Congress’s request. It called on the people of the United States to observe a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. The designated day was a Thursday, establishing an early national precedent for the holiday’s scheduling.
The proclamation was not the first Thanksgiving observance connected with American governments. The Second Continental Congress had issued a national Thanksgiving proclamation in November 1777, during the Revolutionary War. Washington’s declaration was the first formal presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving under the new Constitution.
On November 26, Washington attended services at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York City. He also donated food and beer to imprisoned debtors. Later presidents issued their own Thanksgiving proclamations, although Thomas Jefferson opposed the federal government’s involvement in religious observances.