Today In History: Lincoln Designates Thanksgiving Day

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent father who dwelleth in the heavens.

-- Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation

On October 3rd 1863, President Abraham Lincoln officially recognized the last Thursday in November as a time to give thanks for the harvest and blessings of the past year.  The American Civil War, which began in 1861, would not conclude until 1865 -- representing a significant period of history spurred by divisive opinions over slavery.

Thanksgiving is attributed largely to  Sarah Josepha Hale, a writer, activist, and editor of the widely circulated magazine Godey's Lady's Book, who advocated over decades for its recognition as a federal holiday.

Pilgrims and Puritans emigrated from England in the 1620s and were known to celebrate the bounties of the new land, at times with Native Americans. However, the expression of gratitude for the harvest dates much further back -- with observances in ancient Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia, as well as Roman-occupied Great Britain. American Thanksgiving traditions, with their early celebrations in Plymouth, Massachusetts,  now bring together family and friends, typically with traditional fare that includes turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.

In 1960, President John Fischer of Teachers College, Columbia University remarked in his Thanksgiving Speech, "This Thanksgiving Day, let all of us who serve in schools, give thanks in our accustomed ways for what we have received; but, even more deeply, let us be thankful for the purposes to which we are committed, the sense of obligation that dominated our work. For it continues eternally to be true -- and ever more important that the young people of our affluent society be taught -- that the measure of a man is not what he possesses but what possesses him."

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Finley, R. E. (1931, Nov 22). The Mother of Thanksgiving: This Honor Belongs to Sarah Josepha Hale, Americans' First Woman Editor, Whose Efforts Made the Day a National Holiday. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962)
• Randall, J. (1948, Nov 25). Lincoln and Thanksgiving: Civil War President Acted After Sarah Hale's Proclamation Plea. Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960) 
• Gannett, L. (1949, Nov 24). Books and Things. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Lincoln, A. (1957, Nov 28). Thanksgiving in 1863: A Proclamation. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Sunday Group-Boston Globe Photos. (1958, Nov 23). Turkey Tales of Thanksgiving Traditions. Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960) 
• Prayers of Thanksgiving Called for by President. (1959, Nov 07). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Small, A. (1963, Nov 28). Thanksgiving: A Celebration as Old as Man: Lincoln Started the One We Observe. Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Dudley, U. (1964, Nov 26). 'Home for Thanksgiving'. Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Daniels, M. (1981, Nov 22). In Celebration of Thanksgiving: A Pilgrim Original--Or Is It?: Looking Back Thanksgiving: Pilgrims' Original or Is It Really? Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Schierholz, T. (1985, Nov 25). Thanksgiving: The Pilgrim Viewpoint: Thanksgiving Dates in a Nutshell. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 

Tips:

• Abraham Lincoln Papers: Series 1, General Correspondence, 1833-1916.  Manuscripts from the Library of Congress.
• Anderson, Laurie Halse, and Matt Faulkner. Thank You, Sarah : The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving. First edition. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002.  Curriculum ; GT4975.A53 2002.
• Bartlett, Robert Merrill, and Sally Wern Comport. The Story of Thanksgiving. Revised and newly ill. edition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.  Curriculum ; GT4975 .B39 2001
• Colman, Penny. Thanksgiving : The True Story. 1st ed. New York: Henry Holt, 2008. Curriculum, New Faculty, and TCANA GT4975 .C55 2008.
• McDonnell, Julia. The Pilgrims Didn’t Celebrate the First Thanksgiving : Exposing Myths about Colonial History. First edition. New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2017. e-book.
• McKenzie, Robert Tracy. The First Thanksgiving : What the Real Story Tells Us about Loving God and Learning from History. 1st ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013. e-book.

Images:

• Thanksgiving Desserts, Courtesy of Canva
• Poster Image: Thanksgiving Gourds, Courtesy of Canva

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