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Thanksgiving Day 2019 Presidential Pardon
and Proclamation
November 28, 2019
President Donald J. Trump pardons “Butter”
the turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House on November 26,
2019. (Image created by USA Patriotism! from official White House
Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
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 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.
Image created by USA Patriotism!
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
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