When President Roosevelt tried to save Christmas—and America ended up with 2 Thanksgivings
he world was on edge in August 1939. War with Nazi Germany seemed imminent. But for a brief summer’s afternoon, everything felt peaceful on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, just over the Maine border. Yet the reporters gathered around President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his summer house there refused to leave empty-handed.
Roosevelt’s Thanksgiving plan flabbergasted the reporters gathered at Campobello. Was he really planning to make this switch on only a few months’ notice? “Yes,” the president replied. Thanksgiving was a “perfectly movable feast. …There is nothing sacred about it.”etailers were thrilled.
Support for Roosevelt Thanksgiving—or “Franksgiving” as it swiftly become known as—largely split along party lines. Democrats for it, Republicans opposing. “Maine will stay just where it is,” vowed Governor Lewis O. Barrows, a Republican, pledging not to move his state’s festivities, according to the International News Service. “And I guess the rest of New England will refuse to be regimented on its holidays.
Meanwhile, 23 other governors led an open revolt against Roosevelt Thanksgiving, issuing their own proclamations that festivities in their states would fall on the traditional day, the final Thursday in the month. Eager to keep both sides happy, American Airlines served turkey on its flights every Thursday in November, and United dished it up for a week straight, beginning on the 23rd.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | Giving thanks on Thanksgiving should mean keeping promises to Native AmericansLet's dedicate this holiday to understanding and responding to the injustices against the original inhabitants of this land which stain our conscience.
Read more »
FDR was roasted and compared to Hitler for moving Thanksgiving to stretch out a truncated holiday shopping season that was even shorter than the one we're facing in 2019Angered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's decision to move Thanksgiving, thousands wrote to the White House to protest 'Franksgiving.'
Read more »
Thanksgiving's $165 tab may not leave you feeling thankfulAmericans spend $165 on Thanksgiving. Here's how you can celebrate without depleting your bank account.
Read more »
Trump peddles 'War on Thanksgiving' that he probably heard about on Fox NewsLike the so-called war on Christmas, the rhetorical assault on Thanksgiving is being led by the president’s favorite cable news network.
Read more »
Trump says he’s not changing the name of ThanksgivingRelax, America, President Donald Trump is assuring a Florida crowd he’s not going to change the name of Thanksgiving
Read more »