Proclamation 4405—Thanksgiving Day, 1975
Two hundred years ago the frontier colonies of America braced for a long and determined conflict with the strongest military power in the world. The petition of our Founding Fathers for redress of their grievances had been rejected by King and Parliament, and the people of America began the struggle from which emerged this great Nation.
Our Nation is the oldest continuously surviving republic in the world. For 200 years our freedoms have been questioned, challenged, tested and reinforced. These freedoms have shaped our destiny and served as a beacon to other peoples. Our Nation draws its strength from people of every creed, of every color, of every race - native Americans and people from every nation in the world who for two centuries have come to share in the rewards and responsibilities of our American Republic.
On the eve of our 200th year, Thanksgiving Day should be a day of special reflection upon the qualities of heart, mind and character of the men and women who founded and built our great Nation. Let us join in giving thanks for our cultural pluralism. Let us celebrate our diversity and the great strengths that have come from sharing our traditions, our ideas, our resources, our hopes and our dreams. Let us be grateful that for 200 years our people have been dedicated to fulfilling the democratic ideal - dedicated to securing "liberty and justice for all."
Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, in accord with Section 6103 of Title 5 of the United States Code, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 27, 1975, as a day of national thanksgiving.
Let each of us, in his own way, join in expressing personal gratitude for the blessings of liberty and peace we enjoy today. In so doing, let us reaffirm our belief in a dynamic spirit that will continue to nurture and guide us as we prepare to meet the challenge of our third century.
I call upon all Americans on this day to gather with family and friends in homes and places of worship and join in offering gratitude for this Nation’s countless blessings. I ask that we share with our senior citizens and with those less fortunate than ourselves this special day that brings us all closer together.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundredth.
Gerald R. Ford, Proclamation 4405—Thanksgiving Day, 1975 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241473
Image courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. President Gerald R. Ford is Presented with a Thanksgiving Turkey by the National Turkey Federation.
Discussion Questions:
1. Ford’s address was given before the bicentennial. How have things changed from then until our world where we are on the cusp of the semiquincentennial?
2. What did he mean by “dynamic spirit”? Compare his references to a divine presence to Washington’s? Are they different and, if so, why?
3. Why was “cultural pluralism” an issue he dealt with but one Washington never mentioned?
