Sarah Palin Josepha Hale was a vocal supporter of Thanksgiving, and along with a litany of other social causes and campaigns, the campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday was her dearest cause. She wrote letters to one president after another — Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and finally Abraham Lincoln, who did, in fact, listen to her. On October 3, 1863, he issued a proclamation, saying, 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 been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible. He proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, celebrated that year on the last Thursday of November. So we have Sarah Josepha Hale to thank for Thanksgiving, as well as for writing the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 13:20:31 +0000
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