Vigo County Historical Society

Lincoln had a lesser-known proclamation--Thanksgiving

Most of us know that President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but did you also know that in October 1863, he issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation?

Lincoln stated he realized how gracious God had been to America and how merciful. He felt because of the many blessings that God had bestowed upon our country, that the citizen should give thanks to God.

In a written proclamation, he invited all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our God. He also asked that at this time Americans pray for widows, orphans or those engaged in civil conflict.

He appealed to the citizens of the country to pray for our nation’s wounds to be healed and to pray that God would restore our nation to "peace, harmony, tranquillity and union."

Was the idea of Thanksgiving new? No, it is the most American of holidays. When Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they lost half of their numbers, but the following fall, they had a wonderful harvest. Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a three-day feast to which the Pilgrims invited 90 Native Americans. They celebrated with food and games.

The Pilgrims did not have another thanksgiving feast for 50 years. Thanksgiving was a hit-or-miss New England holiday.

Washington named Nov. 26, 1789, as the first national Thanksgiving, but it was not celebrated again for six years. President Thomas Jefferson tried to make sure there was not a national day of thanksgiving, saying we needed to have separation of church and state. Jefferson refused to name a national day of thanksgiving during his entire term of office.

In New England, the states continued to celebrate Thanksgiving as a state holiday for 60 years, every president followed Jefferson’s example.

In an about-face, Georgia, Texas and Virginia decided to celebrate the holiday.

We owe our thanks for Thanksgiving to a woman named Sara Joseph Hale, the poet who wrote "Mary Had A Little Lamb." Hale was the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, a well-known magazine of the time. She wrote editorials and letters begging every president to make a national day of thanksgiving. Lincoln issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation in response to her appeals. In 1942, Congress passed a resolution naming the fourth Thursday in November as a national Thanksgiving Day.

The museum has Thanksgiving postcards and copies of Thanksgiving proclamations written by President Lincoln and also a proclamation issued by Governor of Indiana, J. Frank Hanley, on Nov. 15, 1905.