Happy Thanksgiving! (A History Lesson)

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Happy Thanksgiving!

The tradition of Thanksgiving in America is associated with our history lessons of the Pilgrims coming to this new land and persevering through the hardships of their first winter thanks to the aid offered by the Native Americans. We imagine the scene of that first celebration based on the artwork and images that are familiar.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth - Jennie Augusta Brownscombe [Public domain]

This event, which we think of as 'the first Thanksgiving', was described by one of the attendees, Edward Winslow, as lasting three days and being attended by ninety Native Americans and 53 pilgrims. The early colonists  were accustomed to celebrating days of thanksgiving with prayers thanking God for blessings such as the end of a drought or victory in a military conflict. This practice continued even during the Revolutionary War, with a First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving issued by the Continental Congress in 1777. Delegate Samuel Adams wrote the first draft, and this final version was given by the Congress:

For as much as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessing as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these United States to set apart Thursday, the eighteenth Day of December next, for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgements and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please God through the Merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, Independence and Peace: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

Congress and most Presidents continued this practice of proclaiming days of Thanksgiving, following President George Washington's proclamation of the first Thanksgiving day designated by the national government of the United States of America:

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be - That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks - for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation - for the signal and maniforld mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war - for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed - for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted - for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for the great and various favors which he hate been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions - to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually - to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, dicreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed - to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord - To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us - and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Although these national days of thanksgiving were often acknowledged, it was the custom for states - usually the New England and other northern states - to establish their own celebration of thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hale had been advocating for a national holiday for thanksgiving for many years, beginning with essays in Boston's Ladies' Magazine in 1827, and in a letter-writing campaign that started in 1846 when she was editor of Godey's Lady's Book. In September of 1863 she wrote directly to President Lincoln, and her request was finally fulfilled. Mrs. Hale had pointed out that "there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

And so, President Lincoln's proclamation, exactly 74 years after Washington's, sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coals as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor that any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 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 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. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently to implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord on thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

It is worth noting that all these proclamations acknowledge that God is the giver of all the blessings enjoyed by the community and nation, as well as by individuals; and that those blessings are given to us out of God's mercy and kindness, not because we are worthy. In fact, all these proclamations also recommend that the day of thanksgiving and praise include confession of sins and pleas for forgiveness, and dedication to obeying and glorifying God.

I close with the following Scripture passages and devotional thoughts that were published this week on my Just A Second blog.

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When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.

But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

~Deuteronomy 8:10-11, 18~


Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil - this is a gift of God.

~Ecclesiastes 5:19~

We have so much to be thankful for, don't we? But we forget, and we take things for granted. It's nothing new - Israel was forgetful and ungrateful too, even after Moses warned them. Just like Israel, we're tempted to congratulate ourselves on how hard we've worked to acquire all our nice things and fail to give glory to God. It's not wrong at all for us to enjoy the good things that we have and feel a sense of accomplishment in what we've done. But we should always remember to thank the LORD, because ultimately he is the One who gives us our abilities and blesses us. And as the Teacher of Ecclesiastes reminds us, even the ability to enjoy our wealth is a gift of God.

Indeed, we have so much to be thankful for!

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A Song. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

~Psalm 100~

*Information and text of proclamations came from the following websites: Abraham Lincoln Online and Lincoln Home, National Historic Site, Illinois (NPS), which are recommended further reading; and from the Wikipedia article on Thanksgiving (United States).

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