Which President refused to officially designate Thanksgiving as a national holiday during his tenure in office?
Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson
Woodrow Wilson
George Washington was the first president to declare Thanksgiving a holiday, but it was initially on a year-to-year basis, requiring subsequent presidents to redeclare it annually. Thomas Jefferson, driven by a fervent commitment to the separation of church and state, adamantly refrained from designating Thanksgiving as a holiday throughout his entire presidential tenure, citing concerns about violating the First Amendment. It wasn’t until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a federal holiday to be commemorated each year on the fourth Thursday of every November.
The correct answer is Thomas Jefferson.