FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

In 1939, Franklin Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to help stir up the economy during the Depression so that the Christmas shopping season would last longer. It was a disaster. Many governors refused to recognize the earlier holiday, resulting in Thanksgiving celebrations taking place on separate days in different states. The country became split on which Thanksgiving they should observe, when 23 states chose to celebrate the holiday on its original date, rather than move it up a week. A 1941 Commerce Department survey concluded that the earlier date did nothing to increase sales.