Ronald Reagan

“ The cause for which we give thanks, for which so many of our citizens through the years have given their lives, has endured 200 years-a blessing to us and a light to all mankind.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1987, let us, in this unbroken chain of observance, dedicate ourselves to honor anew the Author of Liberty and to publicly acknowledge our debt to all those who have sacrificed so much in our behalf. May our gratitude always be coupled with petitions for divine guidance and protection for our Nation and with ready help for our neighbors in time of need. ”

“ As we thank the God our first President called "that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be," we have even greater cause for gratitude than the fresh triumphs that inspired Washington's prose. We have seen the splendor of our natural resources spread across the tables of the world, and we have seen the splendor of freedom coursing with new vigor through the channels of history. ”

“ Thanksgiving Day is one of our most beloved holidays, an occasion set aside by Americans from earliest times to thank our Maker prayerfully and humbly for the blessings and the care He bestows on us and on our beautiful, bountiful land. ”