7 Thanksgiving controversies: Date change, mentions of God, ‘Day of Mourning’

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Thursday, November 28, 2024

Thomas Jefferson refused to celebrate

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America and author of the Declaration of Independence. | Public Domain

In contrast to his predecessors and subsequent commanders-in-chief, Thomas Jefferson refused to issue any Thanksgiving proclamations while serving as president.

Jefferson, the figure who famously supported “a wall of separation between Church and State,” was concerned that issuing a Thanksgiving proclamation was a government endorsement of religion that went against the First Amendment.

Interestingly enough, Jefferson did not believe this restriction applied to the states, and, as governor of Virginia, had issued a proclamation declaring “a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer” in 1779.

“Jefferson’s political enemies, the Federalists, loved to use his stance on the separation of church and state as a political cudgel, convincing Americans that he was an atheist who was making America less godly,” according to History.com.

“Since the public didn’t know the reasoning behind his lack of thanksgiving proclamations […] he remained vulnerable to Federalist attacks that accused him of godlessness.”