November 26 - Thanksgiving Day is Officially Established by FDR

This Day in History: 26 November 2020

 

26 November 1941

 

79 years ago, today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that officially declared the fourth Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Day. The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, when a famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in 1621. Plymouth governor William Bradford had invited local members of the Wampanoag tribe to join the Pilgrims in a festival held in gratitude for the bounty of the season. Throughout the 17^th century, this became an annual custom in New England. However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to officially fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally.

 

With a few exceptions, Lincoln's action was followed annually by every subsequent president, until 1939. In this year, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23 as Thanksgiving Day, the next to last Thursday. Controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans even refused to honour this declaration. Over the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation. However, on this day, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law that officially cemented the fourth Thursday of November as the national holiday of Thanksgiving.

 

Want to find out more about the history of Thanksgiving Day? Click here for more information, or here for more about Roosevelt's declaration. 

November 7 - FDR is Elected to Serve His Fourth Term in Office

This Day in History: 7 November 2020

 

7 November 1944

 

76 years ago, today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term in office and remains the only president to have served more than two terms. He had rose above personal and political challenges to ultimately emerge as one of the most influential presidents, presiding over two of the biggest crises in US history after contracting polio in 1921: the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II. As president, he implemented the legislation necessary to help boost America out of the Great Depression. Although he initially delayed US involvement in the war, the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941 thrust America into the conflict.

 

When Roosevelt was elected to his fourth term, the war was looking to be in favour of the Allied victory, but the president's health was in serious decline. His arteriosclerosis had been worsened by the stress of managing the war, and in April 1945, seven months before the war's end, Roosevelt died of a stroke. Harry Truman, Roosevelt's vice president, came into office, while Congress proposed the 22^nd Amendment. This would mean that presidents would be limited to two consecutive terms. Prior to this, they had either followed George Washington's example in serving a maximum of two years or were unsuccessful in winning a third. The Amendment was passed in 1951.

 

Want to find out more about the life of Franklin Roosevelt? Click here for more information, or here for more firsts in US presidential history.

September 16 - The First Peacetime Draft in the United States

This Day in History: 16 September 2020

 

16 September 1940

 

80 years ago, today, the Burke-Wadsworth Act was passed by Congress, marking it as the first peacetime draft in the United States. Exactly one month later, the registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began. This occurred as Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, began drawing draft numbers out of a glass bowl. Stimson had been a key player in moving the Roosevelt administration away from a foreign policy of strict neutrality. There were around 20 million eligible men, but 50% were rejected in the first year for health reasons or illiteracy.

 

Two years later, when the United States was now participating in the war, the draft ages expanded from 18 to 37. African-Americans were passed over for the draft due to racist assumptions about their abilities and the viability of a mixed-race army. In 1943, this changed when a 'quota', meant to limit the number of black people drafted, was imposed. Initially black people were restricted to 'labour units', but as the war progressed, this ended, and they were finally used in combat. Around 5,000-6,000 men were imprisoned for failing to register to serve their nation, and these were comprised mostly of Jehovah's Witnesses. By the end of the war, around 34 million men had registered, with 10 million serving in the military.

 

Want to find out more about the United States draft? Click here for more information, or here for more about Henry L. Stimson.