United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November. Following the Franksgiving controversy from 1939 to 1941, it has been observed on the fourth Thursday in 1942 and subsequent years.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate States of America and playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.

Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Outside the United States, it is sometimes called American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions. The modern national celebration dates to 1863 and has been linked to the Pilgrims' 1621 harvest festival since the late 19th century. As the name implies, the theme of the holiday generally revolves around giving thanks and the centerpiece of most celebrations is a Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday one week earlier than normal to the second-to-last Thursday of November rather than the last Thursday of November, believing that doing so would help boost the economy by creating an extra seven days of Christmas shopping. This led to much upheaval and protest, causing some to deride the holiday as Franksgiving. The term Franksgiving, a portmanteau of Franklin and Thanksgiving, was coined by Atlantic City mayor Charles D. White in 1939. In late 1941, Congress approved and Roosevelt signed a proclamation to set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.