Thanksgiving. Melanie Kirkpatrick

George Washington Sets the Stage

       Both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.

       —President George Washington

      It is hard to imagine Americans’ favorite holiday as a source of political controversy. But such was the case in 1789, the year of our first Thanksgiving as a nation.

      The controversy began on September 25 in New York City, then the seat of the government of the new United States of America. The venue was the inaugural session of the United States Congress. The senators and representatives had been meeting since March 4 at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan and were about to take a well-deserved break.