"The season is at hand... to turn in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His manifold... blessings to us as a nation. The year that has just passed has been marked... by... His gracious and beneficent providence.... We have seen the practical completion of a great work at the Isthmus of Panama.... 'Righteousness exalteth a nation' and 'peace on earth, good will towards men' furnish the only foundation upon which can be built the lasting achievements of the human spirit."

October 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer