    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 133, 116th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 9968 of November 27, 2019

    Thanksgiving Day, 2019

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    On Thanksgiving Day, we remember with reverence and gratitude the
    bountiful blessings afforded to us by our Creator, and we recommit to
    sharing in a spirit of thanksgiving and generosity with our friends,
    neighbors, and families.
    Nearly four centuries ago, determined individuals with a hopeful vision
    of a more prosperous life and an abundance of opportunities made a
    pilgrimage to a distant land. These Pilgrims embarked on their journey
    across the Atlantic at great personal risk, facing unforeseen trials and
    tribulations, and unforetold hardships during their passage. After their
    arrival in the New World, a harsh and deadly winter took the lives of
    nearly half their population. Those who survived remained unwavering in
    their faith and foresight of a future rich with liberty and freedom,
    enduring every impediment as they established one of our Nation's first
    settlements. Through God's divine providence, a meaningful relationship
    was forged with the Wampanoag Tribe, and through their unwavering
    resolve and resilience, the Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest the
    following year. The celebration of this harvest lasted 3

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    days and saw Pilgrims and Wampanoag seated together at the table of
    friendship and unity. That first Thanksgiving provided an enduring
    symbol of gratitude that is uniquely sewn into the fabric of our
    American spirit.
    More than 150 years later, it was in this same spirit of unity that
    President George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving
    following the Revolutionary War and the ratification of our
    Constitution. Less than a century later, that hard-won unity came under
    duress as the United States was engaged in a civil war that threatened
    the very existence of our Republic. Following the Battle of Gettysburg
    in 1863, in an effort to unite the country and acknowledge ``the
    gracious gifts of the Most High God,'' President Abraham Lincoln asked
    the American people to come together and ``set apart and observe the
    last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to
    our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.'' Today, this
    tradition continues with millions of Americans gathering each year to
    give their thanks for the same blessings of liberty for which so many
    brave patriots have laid down their lives to defend during the
    Revolutionary War and in the years since.
    Since the first settlers to call our country home landed on American
    shores, we have always been defined by our resilience and propensity to
    show gratitude even in the face of great adversity, always remembering
    the blessings we have been given in spite of the hardships we endure.
    This Thanksgiving, we pause and acknowledge those who will have empty
    seats at their table. We ask God to watch over our service members,
    especially those whose selfless commitment to serving our country and
    defending our sacred liberty has called them to duty overseas during the
    holiday season. We also pray for our law enforcement officials and first
    responders as they carry out their duties to protect and serve our
    communities. As a Nation, we owe a debt of gratitude to both those who
    take an oath to safeguard us and our way of life as well as to their
    families, and we salute them for their immeasurable sacrifices.
    As we gather today with those we hold dear, let us give thanks to
    Almighty God for the many blessings we enjoy. United together as one
    people, in gratitude for the freedoms and prosperity that thrive across
    our land, we acknowledge God as the source of all good gifts. We ask Him
    for protection and wisdom and for opportunities this Thanksgiving to
    share with others some measure of what we have so providentially
    received.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 28,
    2019, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to
    gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to
    God for our many blessings.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day
    of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fourth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP