Thread by @AdamKeiper

EVERY PRESIDENTIAL THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION (because why not)

George Washington, 1789: "A day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God"

founders.archives.gov/documents/Wash…

George Washington, 1795: "A day of public Thanksgiving and prayer; and on that day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the great ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies, which distinguish our lot as a Nation"
founders.archives.gov/documents/Wash…

John Adams, 1798: "on the said day, the Duties of Humiliation and Prayer be accompanied by fervent Thanksgiving to the Bestower of every Good Gift"

founders.archives.gov/documents/Adam…

John Adams, 1799: "That he would save our cities and towns from a repetition of those awful pestilential visitations under which they have lately suffered so severely, and that the health of our inhabitants, generally, may be precious in his sight"
founders.archives.gov/documents/Adam…

James Madison, 1813: "that they assemble on the second Thursday of September next, in their respective religious congregations, to render him thanks for the many blessings he has bestowed on the people of the United States"
founders.archives.gov/documents/Madi…

James Madison, 1815: "No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events, and of the destiny of nations, than the people of the United States."
founders.archives.gov/documents/Madi…

Lincoln, 1862: "especially acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Father for these inestimable blessings"
quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/tex…

Lincoln, July 1863: "render the homage due to the Divine Majesty, for the wonderful things he has done in the Nation's behalf"
quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/linc…

Lincoln, Oct 1863: "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father...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"
quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/linc…

Lincoln, 1864: "And I do farther recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of events"
quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/linc…

Andrew Johnson, 1865: "it has pleased Almighty God...to relieve our beloved country from the fearful scourge of civil war and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity, and harmony, with a great enlargement of civil liberty"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/202793

Andrew Johnson, 1866: "That year has, moreover, been crowned with many peculiar blessings. The civil war that so recently closed among us has not been anywhere reopened..."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/202537

Andrew Johnson, 1867: Thanksgiving has become "a recent custom that may now be regarded as established on national consent and approval"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/201909

Andrew Johnson, 1868: "We are permitted to hope that long-protracted political and sectional dissensions are at no distant day to give place to returning harmony and fraternal affection throughout the Republic."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/202928

Ulysses Grant, 1869: "... health has prevailed throughout the land ... It becomes a people thus favored to make acknowledgment to the Supreme Author from whom such blessings flow of their gratitude and their dependence"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204624

Ulysses Grant, 1870: "The people of the United States during the year now about to end have special cause to be thankful for general prosperity, abundant harvests, exemption from pestilence, foreign war, and civil strife"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203907

Ulysses Grant, 1871: "If some of us have had calamities, these should be an occasion for sympathy with the sufferers, of resignation on their part to the will of the Most High, and of rejoicing to the many who have been more favored."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204371

Ulysses Grant, 1872: "The revolution of another year has again brought the time when it is usual to look back upon the past and publicly to thank the Almighty for His mercies and His blessings"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203446

Ulysses Grant, 1873: "With local exceptions, health has been among the many blessings enjoyed. Tranquillity at home and peace with other nations have prevailed. Frugal industry is regaining its merited recognition and its merited rewards."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203650

Ulysses Grant, 1874: "at stated periods we should cease from our accustomed pursuits and from the turmoil of our daily lives and unite in thankfulness for the blessings of the past and in the cultivation of kindly feelings toward each other"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204011

Ulysses Grant, 1875: "the people of the United States, abstaining from all secular pursuits and from their accustomed avocations, do assemble in their respective places of worship, and…offer to Almighty God their acknowledgments and thanks"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204236

Ulysses Grant, 1876: "our hearty thanks to Almighty God that by His providence and guidance our Government, established a century ago, has been enabled to fulfill the purpose of its founders in offering an asylum to the people of every race..."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203530

Rutherford Hayes, 1877: "Let us with one spirit and with one voice lift up praise and thanksgiving to God for His manifold goodness to our land, His manifest care for our nation."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204768

Rutherford Hayes, 1878 (re: a yellow fever epidemic): "The general prevalence of the blessings of health through our wide land has made more conspicuous the sufferings and sorrows which the dark shadow of pestilence has cast upon a portion of our people."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203470

Rutherford Hayes, 1879: "At no recurrence of the season which the devout habit of a religious people has made the occasion for giving thanks to Almighty God...been more conspicuous, more manifold, or more universal"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203773

Rutherford Hayes, 1880: "Health, wealth, and prosperity...; peace, honor, and friendship...; ...liberty and justice..., wise institutions... for all these let the thanks of a happy and united people...ascend in devout homage to the Giver of All Good"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204570

Chester Arthur, 1881 (referring to Pres. Garfield's assassination): "our nation still lies in the shadow of a great bereavement, and the mourning which has filled our hearts still finds its sorrowful expression"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203876

Chester Arthur, 1882: "The blessings demanding our gratitude are numerous and varied" including "the improved means of internal communication" and "the liberal return for the mechanic's toil affording a market for the abundant harvests of the husbandman"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204698

Chester Arthur, 1883: Thanks for "the prevalence of health, the fullness of the harvests, the stability of peace and order, the growth of fraternal feeling, the spread of intelligence and learning, the continued enjoyment of civil and religious liberty"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203502

Chester Arthur, 1884: "and with heart and voice pay reverent acknowledgment to the Giver of All Good for the countless blessings wherewith He hath visited this nation"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204566

Grover Cleveland, 1885: "a reunion of families, sanctified and chastened by tender memories and associations; and let the social intercourse of friends, with pleasant reminiscence, renew the ties of affection and strengthen the bonds of kindly feeling"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204122

Grover Cleveland, 1886: "let the grateful hearts of those who have been shielded from harm through His mercy be turned in sympathy and kindness toward those who have suffered through His visitations"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204883

Grover Cleveland, 1887: "in the midst of our worship and our happiness let us remember the poor, the needy, and the unfortunate, and by our gifts of charity...let us increase the number of those who with grateful hearts shall join in our thanksgiving"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205350

Grover Cleveland, 1888: "as we return thanks for all the blessings which we have received from the hands of our Heavenly Father, let us not forget that He has enjoined upon us charity; and...let us generously remember the poor and needy"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205437

Benjamin Harrison, 1889: "that the people of our country, ceasing from the cares and labors of their working day, shall assemble in their respective places of worship and give thanks to God"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205891

Benjamin Harrison, 1890: "I commend to my fellow-citizens the privilege of remembering the poor, the homeless, and the sorrowful."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205236

Benjamin Harrison, 1891: Observe the day by "rest from toil, worship in the public congregation, the renewal of family ties about our American firesides, and thoughtful helpfulness toward those who suffer lack of the body or of the spirit."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205652

Benjamin Harrison, 1892: "He has blessed our schools and is bringing forward a patriotic and God-fearing generation to execute His great and benevolent designs for our country"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205159

Grover Cleveland, 1893: "assemble in our usual places of worship, where we may recall all that God has done for us and where from grateful hearts our united tribute of praise and song may reach the Throne of Grace"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205431

Grover Cleveland, 1894: "The American people should gratefully render thanksgiving and praise to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, who has watched over them with kindness and fostering care during the year that has passed"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206355

Grover Cleveland, 1895: Ask God not to "leave us nor forsake us as a nation" but to "continue to us His mercy and protecting care...keeping alive within us a patriotic love for the free institutions which have been given to us as our national heritage."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206452

Grover Cleveland, 1896: "It is fitting that on a day especially appointed we should join together in approaching the Throne of Grace with praise and supplication."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205596

William McKinley, 1897: "Respect for law and order has been strengthened, love of free institutions cherished, and all sections of our beloved country brought into closer bonds of fraternal regard and generous cooperation"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205432

William McKinley, 1898 (on the Spanish-American War): "The skies have been for a time darkened by the cloud of war…as we were compelled to take up the sword in the cause of humanity we are permitted to rejoice that the conflict has been of brief duration"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205717

William McKinley, 1899 (re: the aftermath of the Spanish-American War): "The trust which we have assumed for the benefit of the people of Cuba has been faithfully advanced"+Puerto Rico's hurricane+"the insurrection" that "continues in the island of Luzon"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205768

William McKinley, 1900 (re: the Galveston hurricane that killed thousands): "Even the tragic visitation which overwhelmed the city of Galveston made evident the sentiments of sympathy and Christian charity by virtue of which we are one united people."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/205796

Teddy Roosevelt, 1901: "This Thanksgiving finds the people still bowed with sorrow....We mourn President McKinley because we so loved and honored him; and the manner of his death should awaken in the breasts of our people a keen anxiety for the country."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206233

Teddy Roosevelt, 1902: "Generation after generation has grown to manhood and passed away. Each has had to bear its peculiar burdens, each to face its special crises, and each has known years of grim trial."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206886

Teddy Roosevelt, 1903: "In no other place and at no other time has the experiment of government of the people, by the people, for the people, been tried on so vast a scale....Failure would not only be a dreadful thing for us, but ... for all mankind"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206206

Teddy Roosevelt, 1904: "Every man or woman in our land should feel the grave responsibility resting upon him or her, for in the last analysis" the success of the American experiment "must depend upon the high average of our individual citizenship."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206744

Teddy Roosevelt, 1905: "In those grim years the custom grew of setting apart one day in each year for a special service of thanksgiving to the Almighty....The custom has now become national and hallowed by immemorial usage."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206599

Teddy Roosevelt, 1906: "Material well-being...can never be anything but the foundation of true national greatness and happiness." Upon it "must be built a superstructure of individual and national life in accordance with the laws of the highest morality"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207213

Teddy Roosevelt, 1907: "A great democracy like ours, a democracy based upon the principles of orderly liberty, can be perpetuated only if in the heart of ordinary citizens there dwells a keen sense of righteousness, and justice."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207214

Teddy Roosevelt, 1908: "Let us...as a people set our faces resolutely against evil, and...with unflinching determination to smite down wrong, strive with all the strength that is given us for righteousness in public and in private life."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206566

William Howard Taft, 1909: "in accordance with the reverent custom established by our forefathers, the people of the United States are wont to meet in their usual places of worship" to thank God "for the great mercies and benefits which they have enjoyed"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207241

William Howard Taft, 1910 (referring I think to a sort of short-lived predecessor of the League of Nations): "During the past year great progress has been achieved in the cause of arbitration and the peaceful settlement of international disputes."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207493

William Howard Taft, 1911: "Rich in the priceless possessions and abundant resources wherewith the unstinted bounty of God has endowed us, we are unselfishly glad when other peoples pass onward to prosperity and peace."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207564

William Howard Taft, 1912: "strong in the steadfast conservation of the heritage of self-government bequeathed to us by the wisdom of our fathers and firm in the resolve to transmit that heritage unimpaired but rather improved by good use, to our children"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207574

Woodrow Wilson, 1913: "We have seen the practical completion of a great work" on the Panama Canal, which "exemplifies the nation’s abundant resources" and "promises the beginning of a new age" and "new achievements of cooperation and peace"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206657

Woodrow Wilson, 1914 (a few months after WWI's start): "The hurtful effects of foreign war" have made Americans feel "their mutual interdependence upon one another and has stirred them to a helpful cooperation such as they have seldom practiced before."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206660

Woodrow Wilson, 1915: "The extraordinary circumstances of such a time have done much to quicken our national consciousness and deepen and confirm our confidence in the principles of peace and freedom by which we have always sought to be guided."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206663

Woodrow Wilson, 1916: "the whole face of the world has been darkened by war....our thoughts dwell with painful disquiet upon the struggles and sufferings of the nations at war and of the peoples upon whom war has brought disaster"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206666

Woodrow Wilson, 1917 (after the U.S. entered WWI): "We have been given the opportunity to serve mankind as we once served ourselves in the great day of our Declaration of Independence, by taking up arms against a tyranny"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206670

Woodrow Wilson, 1918 (five days after the WWI armistice): "God has in His good pleasure given us peace. It has not come as a mere cessation of arms....It has come as a great triumph of right....the confident promise of a new day"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206674

Woodrow Wilson, 1919 (a few weeks after Wilson's debilitating stroke): "the American people...should, as they give thanks to God, reconsecrate themselves to those principles of right which triumphed through His merciful goodness"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206677

Woodrow Wilson, 1920: "The lesions of the war are rapidly healing. The great army of freemen, which America sent to the defense of Liberty, returning to the grateful embrace of the nation, has resumed the useful pursuits of peace"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206684

Warren Harding, 1921: "when we gather at our altars to offer up thanks, we will do well to pledge, in humility and all sincerity, our purpose to prove deserving. We have been raised up…in national power…as part of a plan whose wisdom we can not question"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206699

Warren Harding, 1922: "We have seen the race of mankind make gratifying progress on the way to permanent peace, toward order and restored confidence in its high destiny."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206702

Calvin Coolidge, 1923: "The year has brought to our people two tragic experiences....One was the death of our beloved President Harding....A little later came the unparalleled disaster to the friendly people of Japan" [earthquake that killed >100,000]
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206745

Calvin Coolidge, 1924: "Ways have been revealed to us by which we could perform very great service...through the extension of financial assistance, and through the exercise of a spirit of neighborly kindliness to less favored peoples."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206750

Calvin Coolidge, 1925: "We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206754

Calvin Coolidge, 1926: "While sections of our country have been visited by disaster, we have been spared any great national calamity or pestilential visitation. We are blessed among the nations of the earth."
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206756

Calvin Coolidge, 1927: "We have advanced in wisdom and in spiritual understanding....We have gained in knowledge of the higher values of life....We have raised the mental and moral standards of life." [Really?]
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206758

Calvin Coolidge, 1928: "Through divine inspiration we have enlarged our charities and our missions; we have been imbued with high ideals which have operated for the benefit of the world and the promotion of the brotherhood of man"
presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206762

Herbert Hoover, 1929 (one week after the Black Tuesday stock market crash): "The fruits of industry have been of unexampled quantity and value. Both capital and labor have enjoyed an exceptional prosperity....Childhood is measurably more secure."
archive.org/details/473170…

Herbert Hoover, 1930: "As a nation we have suffered far less than other peoples from the present world difficulties."
archive.org/details/473170…

Herbert Hoover, 1931: "The measure of passing adversity which has come upon us should deepen the spiritual life of the people, quicken their sympathies and spirit of sacrifice for others, and strengthen their courage."
archive.org/details/473170…

Herbert Hoover, 1932: Rather than issue his own real Thanksgiving proclamation this year, Hoover—five days before the election he would lose to Franklin Roosevelt—just reprinted George Washington's first Thanksgiving proclamation.
archive.org/details/473170…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1933: "May we be grateful for the passing of dark days;...for the brighter day to which we can win through by seeking the help of God in a more unselfish striving for the common bettering of mankind."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4925…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1934: "Our sense of social justice has deepened. We have been given vision to make new provisions for human welfare and happiness, and in a spirit of mutual helpfulness we have cooperated to translate vision into reality."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4925…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1935: "We can well be grateful that more and more of our people understand and seek the greater good of the greater number. We can be grateful that selfish purpose of personal gain, at our neighbor's loss, less strongly asserts itself."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4925…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1936 (nine days after his landslide re-election): "The observance of a day of general thanksgiving...is a practice peculiarly our own, hallowed by usage in the days before we were a nation and sanctioned through succeeding years."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4925…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1937: "A period unhappily marked in many parts of the world by strife and threats of war finds our people enjoying the blessing of peace. We have no selfish designs against other nations."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1938: "Our lands have yielded a goodly harvest, and the toiler in shop and mill receives a more just return for his labor....We...have seen the world escape the impending disaster of a general war."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1939 (soon after the outbreak of WWII): " As a Nation we are deeply grateful that in a world of turmoil we are at peace with all countries"
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1940 (four days after his unpredecented third election; this is one of several instances when he asked his countrymen to pray together): "fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues"
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1941 (describing Lend-Lease): "In the interest of our own future, we are sending succor at increasing pace to those peoples abroad who are bravely defending their homes and their precious liberties against annihilation."
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1942 (this is peak American civil religion right here): "Inspired with faith and courage by these words, let us turn again to the work that confronts us in this time of national emergency"
quod.lib.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/4926…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1943 (not long after the liberation of Italy): "In brotherhood with warriors of other United Nations our gallant men have won victories, have freed our homes from fear, have made tyranny tremble"
books.google.com/books?id=FyWyv…

Franklin Roosevelt, 1944 (just before election day): Give thanks "for the preservation of our way of life from the threat of destruction; for the unity of spirit which has kept our Nation strong; for our abiding faith in freedom"
books.google.com/books?id=5Z5rp…

Harry Truman, 1945 (three months after V-J Day): "We give thanks with the humility of free men, each knowing it was the might of no one arm but of all together by which we were saved. Liberty knows no race, creed, or class in our country or in the world."
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1946: "Devoutly grateful to Divine Providence for the richness of our endowment and the many blessings received, may we continue to give a good account of our stewardship by utilizing our resources in the service of mankind"
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1947: "May our thanksgiving this year be tempered by humility, by sympathy for those who lack abundance, and by compassion for those in want....may we remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive"
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1948 (ten days after his come-from-behind re-election; he alludes to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, then being drafted): "We are privileged to participate in international efforts to advance human welfare."
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1949: "We deeply appreciate the strength of our democratic institutions and the preservation of those ideals of liberty and justice which form the basis of national stability and international peace."
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1950: "We are deeply grateful for the bounties of our soil, for the unequalled production of our mines and factories, and for all the vast resources of our beloved country, which have enabled our citizens to build a great civilization."
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1951: "We are profoundly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us: the preservation of our freedom...; our opportunities for human welfare and happiness...; our material prosperity...; and our private spiritual blessings"
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Harry Truman, 1952: "We are grateful for the privileges and rights inherent in our way of life, and in particular for the basic freedoms, which our citizens can enjoy without fear."
trumanlibrary.gov/library/procla…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1953: "Especially are we grateful this year for the truce in battle-weary Korea, which gives to anxious men and women throughout the world the hope that there may be an enduring peace"
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1954: "We are grateful for the innumerable daily manifestations of Divine goodness in affairs both public and private,...and for the continuance of those homely joys and satisfactions which enrich our lives."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1955: "May we show our thanks for our own bounty by remembrance of those less fortunate, and may the spirit of this Thanksgiving season move us to share with them to alleviate their need"
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1956: "Let us be grateful that the foundations of freedom in our Nation grow stronger with each passing year, giving hope to fettered peoples that they may walk as free men unafraid"
books.google.com/books?id=FBUuA…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1957: "It behooves us to dwell upon the deep religious convictions of those who formed our Nation out of a wilderness...our leaders throughout the succeeding generations have relied upon Almighty God for vision and strength of purpose."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1958: "We deeply appreciate the preservation of those ideals of liberty and justice which form the basis of our national life and the hope of international peace."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1959: "We rejoice in the productivity of farm and factory, but even more so in the prospect of improvement of relations among men and among nations"
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Dwight Eisenhower, 1960: "I urge my fellow Americans to support and assist the efforts which we as a Nation, working individually and in cooperation with other nations, are directing toward the solution of the world-food problem."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR…

John Kennedy, 1961: "In the midst of our thanksgiving, let us not be unmindful of the plight of those in many parts of the world to whom hunger is no stranger and the plight of those millions more who live without the blessings of liberty and freedom."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

John Kennedy, 1962: "Let us renew the spirit of the Pilgrims...by expressing our acceptance of the limitations of human striving and by affirming our duty to strive nonetheless, as Providence may direct us, toward a better world for all mankind"
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

John Kennedy, 1963 (in the month he died): "Yet, as our power has grown, so has our peril. Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers..."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Lyndon Johnson, 1964: "We are saddened that gallant men of our Armed Services have fallen in the eternal quest for peace with freedom, dignity, and justice for all."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Lyndon Johnson, 1965: "Our real blessings lie not in our bounty. They lie in [our] steadfast principles" and in "the courage—as shown by our sons in Viet-Nam today—to defend the cause of freedom wherever on earth it is threatened."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Lyndon Johnson, 1966: "Never, in all the hundreds of Thanksgiving Days, has our nation possessed a greater abundance, not only of material things but of the precious intangibles that make life worth living."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Lyndon Johnson, 1967: "We are conscious...of special sorrows and disappointments. We are engaged in a painful conflict in Asia, which was not of our choosing...in fidelity to a sacred promise to help a nation which has been the victim of aggression."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Lyndon Johnson, 1968: "Americans, looking back on the tumultuous events of 1968, may be more inclined to ask God's mercy and guidance than to offer Him thanks for his blessings."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Richard Nixon, 1969: "We express gratitude for past bounty and we also confidently face the challenges confronting our own nation and the world because we know we can rely on a strength greater than ourselves."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Richard Nixon, 1970: "Although some may see division, we give thanks that ours is one Nation, of many diverse people, living in unity under the precept E Pluribus Unum."
books.google.com/books?id=IyYM1…

Richard Nixon, 1971: The Pilgrims "went in search of a land where they might live out their own commitment to their own ideal of human freedom....They found the land they sought...and revealed a new possibility for the expression of man’s spirit."
books.google.com/books?id=a2nbv…

Richard Nixon, 1972: "Today, in an age of too much fashionable despair, the world more than ever needs to hear America’s perennial harvest message: 'Take heart! Give thanks!'"
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Richard Nixon, 1973: "In times of trial and of triumph...a people who have never bowed before men go gladly to their knees in submission to divine power, and in thanks for divine sustenance."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Gerald Ford, 1974: "In giving thanks for the many things we hold dear, let us also pray for the courage, resourcefulness and sense of purpose we will need to continue America’s saga of progress, and to be worthy heirs of the Pilgrim spirit."
fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/docume…

Gerald Ford, 1975: "Our Nation is the oldest continuously surviving republic in the world....Let us celebrate our diversity and the great strengths that have come from sharing our traditions, our ideas, our resources, our hopes and our dreams."
fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/docume…

Gerald Ford, 1976: "As we cross the threshold into our third century as a sovereign and independent Nation...we reaffirm our trust in Him and express our gratitude for the unity, freedom and renewed sense of national pride we enjoy today."
fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/docume…

Jimmy Carter, 1977: "We have tamed a continent, established institutions dedicated to protecting our liberties, and secured a place of leadership among nations. But we have never lost sight of the principles upon which our Nation was founded."
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ST…

Jimmy Carter, 1978: "This year, let us observe Thanksgiving in the spirit of peace and sharing, by declaring it a day of Thankful Giving, a day upon which the American people share their plenty with the hungry of other lands"
books.google.com/books?id=LVTVA…

Jimmy Carter, 1979: "May we be thankful in proportion to that which we have received, trusting not in our wealth and comforts, but in the strength of our purpose, that all nations might be similarly blessed with liberty and abundance and live in peace."
books.google.com/books?id=XljVA…

Jimmy Carter, 1980 (nine days after he lost his re-election bid): "Thanksgiving is more than just a day of celebration. It is also a commemoration of the day America's earliest inhabitants sat down to table with European colonists"
books.google.com/books?id=PFnVA…

Ronald Reagan, 1981: "Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do as individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1982: "I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart...that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth who had a special love of faith and freedom."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1983: "While we have maintained separate institutions of church and state...we have...preserved reverence for spiritual beliefs. Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1984 (issued a couple of weeks before his re-election): "Real gratitude to God is inscribed, not in proclamations of government, but in the hearts of all our people who come from every race, culture, and creed on the face of the Earth."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1985: "It was the tireless crusade of one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, that finally led to the establishment of this beautiful feast as an annual nationwide observance. Her editorials...touched the heart of Abraham Lincoln..."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1986 (not the only pres to invoke this apocryphal story): "One of the most inspiring portrayals of American history is that of George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge" before "call[ing] for a special day of thanksgiving"
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1987: "Through the decades, through the centuries, in log cabins, country churches, cathedrals, homes, and halls, the American people have paused to give thanks to God, in times of peace and plenty or of danger and distress."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

Ronald Reagan, 1988: "People from every race, culture, and creed on the face of the Earth now inhabit this land. Their presence illuminates the basic yearning for freedom, peace, and prosperity that has always been the spirit of the New World."
reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speec…

George H.W. Bush, Jan. 1989 (a special day of thanksgiving after his inauguration): "Call upon the citizens of our great Nation to gather together...to pray in thanksgiving for our blessings of peace, freedom, prosperity, and Independence"
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