While later presidents failed to maintain the tradition, it was Washington’s original proclamation that guided Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation. More: How to watch 'A Charlie Brown ...

Thanksgiving became regularly celebrated on the last Thursday in November starting in 1863 with a proclamation from President Abraham Lincoln. The last Thursday in November fell on the last day of ...

It took the trauma of the Civil War to make Thanksgiving a formal, annual holiday. Lincoln issued his proclamation on Oct. 3, 1863, three months after Union Army victories at Gettysburg and ...

Many presidents ignored Hale's letters, but President Lincoln did not. His October 3rd, 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation read, "In the midst of a civil war of unequal magnitude and severity ...

On October 3, 1789, George Washington issued his Thanksgiving proclamation ... later declare Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. Minnesota usually raises the most turkeys, according ...