Thanksgiving History Quiz: How Much Do You Really Know?

Thanksgiving became a fixed national holiday only in 1941, after a century and a half of shifting dates. This 8-question quiz covers the 1621 harvest celebration in Plymouth and how the holiday landed on the fourth Thursday in November. Every answer comes from the National Archives or Plimoth Patuxet Museums.

1. 01

   Question 1: Which president issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation under the U.S. Constitution, for November 26, 1789?

   • ✓George Washington (correct)
   • –John Adams
   • –Thomas Jefferson

   Answer: George Washington.

   Congress asked for a day of thanksgiving in 1789, and George Washington named Thursday, November 26.

   Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)

2. 02

   Question 2: Whose 1863 proclamation made Thanksgiving a regular yearly holiday?

   • ✓Abraham Lincoln (correct)
   • –Andrew Johnson
   • –Ulysses S. Grant

   Answer: Abraham Lincoln.

   Earlier dates varied. Lincoln's 1863 proclamation started the yearly late-November tradition.

   Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)

3. 03

   Question 3: Why did Franklin D. Roosevelt move Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939?

   • ✓To give stores a longer Christmas shopping season (correct)
   • –To avoid a clash with a football game
   • –To line it up with Canada's Thanksgiving

   Answer: To give stores a longer Christmas shopping season.

   That year the last Thursday fell on November 30, and FDR worried a short shopping season would hurt the economic recovery.

   Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)

4. 04

   Question 4: How many states went along with Roosevelt's earlier date?

   • ✓32 (correct)
   • –16
   • –All 48

   Answer: 32.

   32 states followed FDR and 16 kept the last Thursday, so for two years the country celebrated on two different days.

   Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)

5. 05

   Question 5: In 1941, Congress set Thanksgiving on which day?

   • ✓The fourth Thursday in November (correct)
   • –The last Thursday in November
   • –The last Monday in November

   Answer: The fourth Thursday in November.

   The Senate changed the House's "last Thursday" to the fourth Thursday, which covers Novembers with five Thursdays.

   Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving (National Archives)

6. 06

   Question 6: How long did the 1621 harvest celebration in Plymouth last?

   • ✓Three days (correct)
   • –One afternoon
   • –Two weeks

   Answer: Three days.

   The Wampanoag and English shared three days of feasting and recreation in fall 1621.

   Source: Thanksgiving History (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)

7. 07

   Question 7: Which Wampanoag leader came to the 1621 celebration with about 90 men?

   • ✓Massasoit (correct)
   • –Squanto
   • –Metacom

   Answer: Massasoit.

   Massasoit was an important sachem, or leader, of the Wampanoag People.

   Source: Thanksgiving History (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)

8. 08

   Question 8: Who wrote the only surviving firsthand account of the 1621 celebration?

   • ✓Edward Winslow (correct)
   • –William Bradford
   • –Myles Standish

   Answer: Edward Winslow.

   Pilgrim Edward Winslow described it in a letter to a friend in England.

   Source: Thanksgiving History (Plimoth Patuxet Museums)