by Mike Simpson

Washington, D.C. - Once again, on the last Thursday of November, Americans will garnish their tables and gather their families to feast and celebrate life’s blessings. But as Americans dine on traditional turkey and mashed potatoes, few will remember the woman whose tireless work brought us the official holiday we celebrate today.

Our nation’s roots of Thanksgiving stem from the classic tale of the starving new world Pilgrims and the friendly Native Americans who shared dinner together. What we might not consider is that the first Thanksgiving wasn’t meant to be a yearly tradition. Puritan religious culture emphasized the virtue of gratitude. During times of joy and tribulation, feasts and fasts were declared as Thanksgivings. Devout members prayed, fasted, and if times were good, ate together to give thanks. Early colonial history shows only a handful of these official events: the First Thanksgiving in 1621 and the first national Thanksgiving declared in 1777 by the Continental Congress, and in 1789, 1795, 1798, 1799 and in 1815. As the nation evolved and regional thanksgivings became more common they functioned more as holidays than solely religious opportunities.

As the cultural divide between the northern and the southern states grew larger, a young widow decided Thanksgiving would bring all Americans together. The daughter of a Revolutionary War veteran, Sara Josepha Hale was the unlikely candidate for social change. At 34, her husband died of pneumonia and Sarah was left to find employment and raise her four children. She turned to writing and became one of the foremost women’s editors of her time, working for Godey’s Lady’s Book, which was the equivalent of a modern day combination of Good Housekeeping Magazine and Vogue. Some literary critics referred to her as the “Genius of Philadelphia.”

Hale began a one-woman crusade to establish a national Thanksgiving celebration. She wrote, “We have too few holidays. Thanksgiving like the Fourth of July should be considered a national festival and observed by all our people… as an exponent of our Republican institutions.”

For 17 years, she wrote editorials and petitioned governors of states and territories calling for the creation of Thanksgiving. By 1852, she’d convinced 29 states and all territories to celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day. As Civil War seemed inevitable, Hale continued her quest believing Thanksgiving would heal a broken nation.

“This year the last Thursday in November falls on the 29th. If all the States and Territories hold their Thanksgiving on that day, there will be a complete moral and social reunion of the people of America in 1860. Would not this be a good omen for the perpetual political union of the States,” she wrote in September 1860.

Hale finally caught the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. She visited with the war-torn president and asked him to issue a proclamation designating an annual national day of Thanksgiving. Previously Lincoln had declared two Thanksgivings for victorious Union battles at Shiloh and Gettysburg. In October 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a Thanksgiving holiday.

The nation continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November until in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the day to the third Thursday of November to offer more shopping days for Christmas. But by 1941, Roosevelt reversed his decision and returned the holiday to Hale’s original request.

Sarah Josepha Hale, the architect of modern Thanksgivings, died in 1879 at the age of 91. Her desire to gather families and promote gratitude in America fulfilled, she proved that one person could make a difference and change society for the better. Today, as we celebrate our blessings of living in this land, take a moment to remember Sarah Josepha Hale because without her effort Thanksgiving may not exist.

Credit:
Congressman Mike Simpson - 2nd District of Idaho
Press Release - Nov. 22, 2002
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/id02_simpson/pr11_20thanksgiving.html

Michael (Mike) K. Simpson is serving his second term in the House of Representatives for the Second Congressional District of Idaho. Simpson favors smaller government by transferring certain federal responsibilities back to the states. He believes in lowering taxes on married couples, eliminating the death tax and encouraging economic growth for small businesses. He is an advocate of a strong national defense and promoting a stable agriculture economy. - http://www.house.gov/simpson/bio.htm

Related Information:

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