In an effort to help drag the United States out of the Great Depression in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date of Thanksgiving one week earlier than usual. Since Lincoln, the Presidential tradition was to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month. However, Franklin changed the date in an effort to extend the holiday season for retailers, which typically began after Thanksgiving. Atlantic City mayor Thomas Taggart Jr. convinced Roosevelt that moving Thanksgiving Day to 23rd would give the economy a much-needed boost.
Though intentions were good, this change of date was not well received by the public. Immediately, people challenged this decision. Roosevelt's opponent in the 1936 election, Alf Landon, used this decision to demonstrate how impulsive and ill-advised Roosevelt was. Republicans, in particular, were very vocal about this. This new Thanksgiving date was dubbed "Franksgiving" (after President Roosevelt's first name).
Franksgiving proved to be disastrous for national corporations. This is due to the fact that only some states accepted this new Thanksgiving date. In 1939, 23 states used the new date, 22 used the old, and 3 recognized both. For people trying to take vacations and corporations celebrating national holidays, this wreaked havoc. In 1940, more states celebrated Thanksgiving on November 21st, but 16 states still celebrated on the 28th.
Though many people from both parties resisted the switch, preferred date often correlated to political party. Because Roosevelt was a Democrat, more Democrats and democratically-controlled states celebrated the new date, while most Republicans resisted. The old date was even referred to as "Republican Thanksgiving".
In 1941, it was found that moving Thanksgiving forward did little to boost sales, and it also disrupted Thanksgiving-based commerce, such as the sale of turkeys. Eventually, Roosevelt signed a bill that officially declared Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of every month. Most states immediately declared the same, and it has stayed the same since then.
Teagan, I found your article to be an interesting and humorous anecdote of a provision that seems small, yet helps explain one of the country's most traditional holidays. It goes to show how far Roosevelt was willing to go in order to promote the growth of the US economy, and reflects the reality of the desperation of the time. At the same time though, it provides a light-hearted glimpse into a somewhat strange policy that someone like FDR is not associated with. Well done.
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