Abraham Lincoln was encouraged to establish Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday in 1863 by Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor and writer. Hale persistently campaigned for decades, writing letters to presidents, including Lincoln, and publishing editorials advocating for a unified, national day of thanks. Her letter to Lincoln in September 1863 prompted him to make his famous proclamation, officially setting a national Thanksgiving for the last Thursday in November.