The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade used to just let the balloons float off
This collection of photographs may allow teachers to approach Thanksgiving from the perspective of marketing to explore the cultural history of the holiday and how it fits into American culture rather than the memory of the colonial event on which it is based.
In 1939, FDR changed the date for celebration of Thanksgiving from the fourth to the third Thursday on November; acceding to the requests of merchants hoping to expand the holiday buying season. Traditionally, the date for the celebration of Thanksgiving was set by presidential proclamation as the fourth Thursday in November every year since Lincoln first set it in 1863. This collection of documents from the FDR library shows what an upheaval this caused across the country as schools, chambers of commerce, as well as state and local governments had to change their plans. This is a great way to teach about complexity, and about the role of the government in the economy and daily life of the people. Liberty? Freedom?
