[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 46 (Monday, November 19, 2001)]
[Pages 1681-1682]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7504--Thanksgiving Day, 2001

November 16, 2001

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Nearly half a century ago, President Dwight Eisenhower proclaimed 
Thanksgiving as a time when Americans should celebrate ``the plentiful 
yield of our soil . . . the beauty of our land . . . the preservation of 
those ideals of liberty and justice that form the basis of our national 
life, and the hope of international peace.'' Now, in the painful 
aftermath of the September 11 attacks and in the midst of our resolute 
war on terrorism, President Eisenhower's hopeful words point us to our 
collective obligation to defend the enduring principles of freedom that 
form the foundation of our Republic.
    During these extraordinary times, we find particular assurance from 
our Thanksgiving tradition, which reminds us that we, as a people and 
individually, always have reason to hope and trust in God, despite great 
adversity. In 1621 in New England, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God, in 
whom they placed their hope, even though a bitter winter had taken many 
of their brethren. In the winter of 1777, General George Washington and 
his army, having just suffered great misfortune, stopped near Valley 
Forge, Pennsylvania, to give thanks to God. And there, in the throes of 
great difficulty, they found the hope they needed to persevere. That 
hope in freedom eventually inspired them to victory.
    In 1789, President Washington, recollecting the countless blessings 
for which our new Nation should give thanks, declared the first National 
Day of Thanksgiving. And decades later, with the Nation embroiled in a 
bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln revived what is now an 
annual tradition of issuing a presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving. 
President Lincoln asked God to ``heal the wounds of the nation and to 
restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the 
full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and Union.''
    As we recover from the terrible tragedies of September 11, Americans 
of every belief

[[Page 1682]]

and heritage give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy as a 
free, faithful, and fair-minded land. Let us particularly give thanks 
for the selfless sacrifices of those who responded in service to others 
after the terrorist attacks, setting aside their own safety as they 
reached out to help their neighbors. Let us also give thanks for our 
leaders at every level who have planned and coordinated the myriad of 
responses needed to address this unprecedented national crisis. And let 
us give thanks for the millions of people of faith who have opened their 
hearts to those in need with love and prayer, bringing us a deeper unity 
and stronger resolve.
    In thankfulness and humility, we acknowledge, especially now, our 
dependence on One greater than ourselves. On this day of Thanksgiving, 
let our thanksgiving be revealed in the compassionate support we render 
to our fellow citizens who are grieving unimaginable loss; and let us 
reach out with care to those in need of food, shelter, and words of 
hope. May Almighty God, who is our refuge and our strength in this time 
of trouble, watch over our homeland, protect us, and grant us patience, 
resolve, and wisdom in all that is to come.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 
2001, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage Americans to 
assemble in their homes, places of worship, or community centers to 
reinforce ties of family and community, express our profound thanks for 
the many blessings we enjoy, and reach out in true gratitude and 
friendship to our friends around the world.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day 
of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:18 a.m., November 
19, 2001]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
November 20.