Strong Thanksgiving Proclamations – A Prayerful Step Back in Time

November brings gratitude for the summer’s harvest and all that we were able to store for winter consumption. As I pondered America’s Thanksgiving, celebrated every fourth Thursday in November, I wanted to reflect upon the Thanksgiving Proclamations of the past.

Governor Bradford’s First Thanksgiving Proclamation

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather t ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29^th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

~William Bradford, Ye Governor of Ye Colony¹

In Our Nation’s Founding

America’s First National Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued by the Continental Congress on November 1777, with the celebration to take place on December 18, 1777. The Continental Congress issued a second Day of Thanksgiving to take place on November 28, 1782.

The first Thanksgiving Day celebrated under the new Constitution took place on November 26, 1789, when the first president, President George Washington, issued the first proclamation recognizing November 26^th “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.”

President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a nationwide holiday by designating the last Thursday in November 1863 as the day to celebrate. President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed it to the third Thursday of November in 1939 to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. Following an uproar of protest, the House of Representatives designated the last Thursday in November as a legal holiday, and the Senate passed an amendment designating the fourth Thursday in November as the official legal holiday. This was in 1941, and the fourth Thursday in November has been celebrated as a day to give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness in providing, protecting, and sheltering us in the previous twelve months.

George Washington’s First Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…

…to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God…

…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. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence…

…for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed…

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions…

…to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue…

…and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows best. ~George Washington

Washington honors God as the Almighty God, the Author of all that is good, and the Lord and Ruler of Nations. He calls upon the people to obey the Lord, to be grateful to Him, and to humbly implore the Lord for His protection and favor. He calls for repentance of individual and national sins.

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863

The year that is drawing its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one hart and one voice…

…as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens…

…and commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment, harmony, tranquility, and union. ~Abraham Lincoln³

Lincoln honors God Almighty, our Father in heaven.

Ulysses S. Grant’s Thanksgiving Proclamations, 1872

…I recommend the people meet in their respective places of worship and there make their acknowledgments to God for His kindness and bounty. ~Ulysses S. Grant, 1872

Moving into the 20^th century.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1902

…I recommend that throughout the land the people cease from their ordinary occupations, and in their several homes and places of worship render thanks unto Almighty God for the manifold blessings of the past year. ~Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Franklin Roosevelt’s Thanksgiving Proclamations, 1934 and 1936

…More greatly have we turned our hearts and minds to things spiritual. We can truly say, ‘What profit it a Nation if it gain the whole world and lose its own soul.’

With gratitude in our hearts for what has already been achieved, may we, with the help of God, dedicate ourselves anew to work for the betterment of mankind. ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1934

Let us, therefore, on the day appointed, each in his own way, but together as a whole people, make due expression of our thanksgiving and humbly endeavor to follow in the footsteps of Almighty God. ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1936

Reagan is the first president I remember, so I leave the history books and enter into present-day life.

Ronald Reagan’s Thanksgiving Proclamations, 1981 and 1988

…Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people. ~Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981

…In this year when we as a people enjoy the fruits of economic growth and international cooperation, let us take time both to remember the sacrifices that have made this harvest possible and the needs of those who do not fully partake of its benefits. The wonder or our agricultural abundance must be recalled as the work of farmers who, under the best and worst of conditions, give their all to raise food upon the land. The gratitude that fills our being must be tempered with compassion for the needy. The blessings that are ours must be understood as the gift of a loving God Whose greatest gift is healing. Let us join then, with the psalmist of old:

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name, make known His deeds among the people!

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him, tell of all His wonderful works!

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! ~Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1988

Moving into the 21^st century.

George W. Bush’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 2008

…On this day, let us all give thanks to God who blessed our Nation’s first days and who blesses us today. May He continue to guide and watch over our families and our country always. ~George Walker Bush

Barack Obama’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 2016

…I encourage people to join together – whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors – and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others. ~Barack Hussein Obama

Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 2018

…This Thanksgiving, as we gather in places of worship and around tables surrounded by loved ones, in humble gratitude for the bountiful gifts we have received, let us keep in close memory our fellow Americans who have faced hardship and tragedy this year. In the spirit of generosity and compassion, let us joyfully reach out in word and deed, and share our time and resources throughout our communities. Let us also find ways to give to the less fortunate – whether it be in the form of sharing a hearty meal, extending a helping hand, or providing words of encouragement.

We are especially reminded on Thanksgiving of how the virtue of gratitude enables us to recognize, even in adverse situations, the love of God in every person, every creature, and throughout nature. Let us be mindful of the reasons we are grateful for our lives, for those around us, and for our communities. We also commit to treating all with charity and mutual respect, spreading the spirit of Thanksgiving throughout our country and across the world. ~Donald John Trump

Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 2021

…I encourage the people to join together and give thanks for the friends, neighbors, family members, and strangers who have supported each other over the past year in a reflection of goodwill and unity. ~Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

As we enter this Thanksgiving season, let us give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness to us as individuals, as families, and as members of our community, for our state or province, and our country.

A Prayer for Thanksgiving

Lord, we will give You thanks with our whole hearts. Before the gods, we will sing praises to You. We will bow down toward Your holy throne, and give thanks to Your Name for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth, for You have exalted Your Name and Your Word above all. On the day that we called, You answered us. You strengthened our souls.²

God, You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Your word is a lamp to our feet, and a light for our path. And You instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. You counsel us with Your eye on us. You call us to be strong and courageous, to not be afraid or tremble in dread before others, for it is You, Lord our God, who goes with us. You will not fail us or abandon us.³

Lord, as Your people who are called by Your name, we humble ourselves before You, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways. Thank you, O Lord, for hearing from heaven, for forgiving our sins, and for healing our land.⁴

For this, we recall and therefore we have hope and expectation: It is because of Your mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because Your [tender] compassions fail not. Your compassions are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.⁵

Let our soul magnify and exalt the Lord, and let our spirit rejoice in God our Savior. For Your mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him. You have done mighty deeds with Your [powerful] arm; You have scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. You have brought down rulers from their thrones and exalted those who were humble.⁶

O Lord, for those of us who wait for You [who expect, look for, and hope in You] will gain new strength and renew our power; we will lift up our wings [and rise up close to You] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; we will run and not become weary, we will walk and not grow tired. Surely goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow us all the days of our lives, and through the length of our days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be our dwelling place. O Lord, we give thanks to You, the God of heaven, for Your loving-kindness endures forever. Amen.⁷

Recommendations

How to Cultivate Thankfulness – Count Your Blessings – Strength with Dignity

How to Give Thanks in Every Season of Life – Strength with Dignity

References

¹ Governor Bradford’s First Thanksgiving Proclamation. Published by Apple Seeds. Retrieved November 10, 2025, from First Thanksgiving Proclamation William Bradford

² Psalm 138:1-3 WEB

³ Psalms 46:1, 119:105, 32:8 WEB; Deuteronomy 31:6 AMP

⁴ 2 Chronicles 7:14 WEB

⁵ Lamentations 3:21-23 AMP

⁶ Luke 1:46-47, 50-52 AMP

⁷ Isaiah 4:31 AMP; Psalms 23:6 AMPC, 136:26 WEB

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

Thanksgiving Proclamation: 1789, 1863, 1872, 1902, 1934, 1936, 1981, 1988, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2021. Published in the public domain. A great resource for the Thanksgiving Day proclamations is found here, Thanksgiving Day Proclamations 1789–Present

World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is a registered trademark.

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway