Pilgrims and Indians and the First Thanksgiving:"In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to the last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving.
All of Lincoln's successors had proclaimed Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November.
But in 1939, the National Dry Goods Association had requested Roosevelt move Thanksgiving back one week to allow for a longer Christmas season.
This caused considerable controversy, with 23 states celebrating Thanksgiving on the 23rd, and 23 states waiting until the 30th.
This Thanksgiving was called "Franksgiving" by many who considered Roosevelt's proclamation an outrage.
In 1941, Roosevelt announced that the extending of the Christmas season had caused no increase in retail sales, and on November 26, 1941, he signed a bill that established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving holiday, which it has been ever since."
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