The National Archives Celebrates Thanksgiving!
On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as an official holiday of "sincere and humble thanks." The nation then celebrated its first Thanksgiving under its new Constitution. On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln made the traditional Thanksgiving celebration a nationwide holiday to be commemorated each year on the fourth Thursday of November. View related records in the Archives Catalog.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Carving the Thanksgiving Turkey (National Archives Identifier 6728549)
President Harry S. Truman Receiving a Turkey for Thanksgiving (National Archives Identifier 200138)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower feeds a cranberry to a turkey he received from the Turkey Foundation on November 4, 1954, at the White House. (National Archives, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library)
Presentation of a Thanksgiving Turkey to President John F. Kennedy (National Archives Identifier 6817150)
Annual Presentation of Thanksgiving Turkey to President Lyndon B. Johnson (National Archives Identifier 6802682)
Annual Presentation of Thanksgiving Turkey to President Richard Nixon (National Archives Identifier 194663)
President Gerald R. Ford Is Presented with a Thanksgiving Turkey by the National Turkey Federation (National Archives Identifier 6829627)
President George H.W. Bush Participates in the Presentation and Pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey (National Archives Identifier 6728222)