Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 7.75 x 9.75, October 27, 1875. President Grant directs "the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to my Proclamation fixing the day for a National Thanksgiving." Crisply signed at the conclusion by President Grant. In fine condition.
On October 27, 1875, President Grant issued his 'Proclamation 226,' declaring the Thursday, November 25th, as a day of "National Thanksgiving," recommending that '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, in such form as may seem most appropriate in their own hearts, offer to Almighty God their acknowledgments and thanks for all His mercies and their humble prayers for a continuance of His divine favor.' This continued the tradition set by President Abraham Lincoln, who in 1863 proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. It would not be until a 1942 Act of Congress that Thanksgiving received a permanent observation date—the fourth Thursday in November—and was no longer up to the discretion of the president.
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