Learn that the idea of gratitude and giving thanks is an ancient concept for mankind and expressly elevated in the Bible.

Review how days of thanksgiving were originally commemorated in the English colonies in Virginia and Massachusetts, with the English dissenters, the Pilgrims, having the most influential celebrations.

In the colonial era, Thanksgiving celebrations were centered on particular events and circumstances, and, accordingly, happened at different times.

As Americans united against British tyranny, they made continental wide proclamations through the Continental Congress, but again tied to specific events and times.
President George Washington issued the first two Thanksgiving Proclamations under the Constitution, and John Adams and James Madison did the same. Thomas Jefferson refused, and after James Madison, Thanksgiving was proclaimed by the States, but not by the President, until Abraham Lincoln.

Sarah Josepha Hale’s drive to create a uniform, nation wide celebration was embraced by Lincoln and his successors, and it became firmly fixed to the Fourth Thursday of November under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Feasts, running, football, parades, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday all flow from this powerful day of gratitude.

Highlights include the Bible, Thessalonians 5:16-18, Colossians 2:7, Psalm 100:4, Colossians 4:2, Psalm 92, Philippians 4:6, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth Anne Boleyn, Church of England, John Calvin, Puritans, Common Book of Prayers, King James I, Pilgrims, Mayflower, Plymouth England, Plymouth Harbor Massachusetts, Mayflower Compact, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Samoset, Squanto, Wampanoag, William Bedford, Thanksgiving commemoration, Melanie Kirkpatrick, Thanksgiving The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience, William Bradford, Berkeley Plantation a/k/a Berkeley Hundred, The Margaret, John Woodlief, Jamestown, the Starving Time, Chief Opechancanough, Massacre of 1622, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New Amsterdam, First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress, Day of Humiliation Fasting and Prayer (1776), Henry Laurens, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation (1777), Battle of Saratoga, Thomas McKean, Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, George Washington, James Madison, Elias Boudinot, Aedanus Burke, Thomas Tudor Tucker, Federalist Party, Anti-Federalists, Peter Silvester, Roger Sherman, Articles of Confederation, Continental Association, Constitution, William Samuel Johnson, Ralph Izard, Washington Thanksgiving Day Proclamation , Whiskey Rebellion, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Letter, James Madison, First Amendment, War of 1812, Abraham Lincoln, Sarah Josepha Hale, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Northwood: A Tale of New England, Vassar College, domestic science, Ladies’ Magazine, Godey’s Lady’s Book, Civil War, William Seward, Andrew Johnson, Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a/k/a FDR, National Retail Dry Goods Association, Franksgiving, Allen Treadway, Earl Michener, FDR Thanksgiving Speech, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Johnson Thanksgiving Speech (1963), President John F. Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan, Reagan Thanksgiving Speech, President Barak Obama Thanksgiving Speech, President George W. Bush, President Bush Thanksgiving Day visit to the troops in Iraq, President Donald Trump, Trump Thanksgiving Day visit to troops in Afghanistan, Trump Speech to troops on Thanksgiving, President Bill Clinton Pardoning of Turkey, Presidential Pardons of Turkey, Thanksgiving Dinner & Feast, Thanksgiving parades, Grumbles, Macy’s, Hudson’s, Turkey Trot, National Football League (NFL) Thanksgiving Games, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Walter Camp, Collegiate Football Thanksgiving Games, George A. Richards, The Chicago Bears, Black Friday, Giving Tuesday, Henry Timms, Cyber Monday, and many others.

To learn more about America & Patriot Week, visit www.PatriotWeek.org. Our resources include videos, a TV series, blogs, lesson plans, and more.