Thanksgiving in America : The Story of Thanksgiving, Part 5 (Updated & Reposted from Thanksgiving 2009)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Thanksgiving celebrations since the time of the Pilgrims and Puritans had been celebrated throughout the American colonies. They were always a time of religious reflection thanking God for that year's blessings. There was no set date for thankgiving celebrations but they would be declared by local leaders or colony governors in response to some event. Throughout the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress appointed one or more days of thanksgiving every year. The first formal declaration was made by the Congress in 1777.

As President of the United States, George Washington declared the first federal Thanksgiving Day with the following 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 manifold 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 all the great and various favors which he hath 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, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown 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."

*an older spelling of “increase”

He would again proclaim a day of Thanksgiving in 1795 as would many of the presidents except Thomas Jefferson. James Madison would renew the tradition that has been followed ever since.

Even though US Presidents proclaimed a Day of Thanksgiving (though not every year), it was still not an official federal holiday. During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, with the influence of Sarah Josepha Hale, decided to create a national Thanksgiving Day that would be celebrated on the last Thursday of November.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with tradition and declared the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving. There were 5 Thursdays that year. In 1940 he declared the third Thursday (there were 4 Thursdays that November). His stated goal was to help improve the profits of the Christmas shopping season because of the Great Depression and since it was considered indecent at the time to advertise Christmas items before Thanksgiving. So, finally in 1941, the Congress passed an act declaring that Thanksgiving Day would always be on the fourth Thursday of November.

Other Links and Articles:
Presidential Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day (released on November 24, 2010 by President Obama)
Thanksgiving Features Native American Foods (VOA News article) & Video
President Obama Pardons Thanksgiving Turkey (VOA News article) & Audio

Watch video of President Obama pardoning the 2010 White House turkey in this unusual White House tradition! Download Video : MP4 (66 MB)

See also President Bush’s 2008 Thanksgiving Proclamation

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Thanksgiving in America : The Story of Thanksgiving, Part 4 (Reposted from 23 November 2009)

After a harsh winter, the Pilgrims had their first formal contact with the indigenous when on March 16, 1621 an Native American walked boldly into the middle of Plymouth Colony and declared in English, "Welcome, Englishmen!" He also asked if they had any beer! His name was Samoset, a subordinate chief of the Abenaki tribe in Maine, and he was was visiting Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoags. Samoset had learned English from English fishermen that came to fish off the coast of Maine. From Samoset, the colonists learned about the plague that had wiped out the Indians where they had established Plymouth Colony. After spending the night in the settlement, he came back two days later with Tisquantum, better known today as Squanto.

He spoke even better English than Samoset due to more unfortunate circumstances. Squanto had previously been captured several times by Englishmen. The last time he was sold into slavery for £20 in Spain but fortunately for him, he was taken by some local friars in order to be instructed in the Christian faith. He escaped to London where he lived for several years and participated in an expedition of the North American sea coast. Finally in 1619 he returned to his homeland in Maine only to discover that his tribe had been killed off by plague. He then went to Wampanoags and finally settled with the Pilgrims. He and Samoset would be the liason between the Pilgrims and the Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag nation. With their assistance, they established formal peace treaty between the two peoples.

 

For the Pilgrims, Tisquantum (or Squanto) was a Godsend. He helped them to recover from the harsh winter teaching them how to plant crops in the New World and where to best catch fish and eels. Around October of 1621 after a fruitful harvest thanks to the help of the Wampanoags, they held "The First Thanksgiving." The colonists didn't refer to this celebration as Thanksgiving because it was more of a harvest festival. For Puritans, thanksgiving was a day of prayer and worship, not revelry. The first real thankgiving was in 1623 with the arrival of new supplies and colonists from England. What Americans really celebrate today is rooted in the European harvest festival tradition.

 

Interesting links to learn more:

Wikipedia – Samoset

Wikipedia – Massasoit

Abenaki Indian tribe 

Wikipedia – Wampanoags

Wikipedia – Squanto

Culture Spot : School Days in America’s Past – Defeating “Ye Ould* Deluder Satan”

Public education was a new idea in the New World, and our Puritan forebears turned it to the good use of guarding souls as well as improving minds.

Members of the General Court of Massachusetts had two goals in mind when, in 1647, they passed a law that created the first publicly supported schools in America. Their dual aims were to foil the efforts of “ye ould* deluder Satan, to keepe* men from the knowledge of ye Scriptures,” and to ensure that “learning . . . not be buried in ye grave of our fathers.”

The law required every settlement of more than 50 families to appoint a teacher to provide instruction in the Puritan version of the three R’s: reading, writing, and religion. Towns with more than 100 families had to set up a “grammar schoole*,” where emphasis was put on the education of boys of “hopeful promise,” who studied Latin, Greek, and literature in preparation for college. Girls, on the other hand, were rarely allowed above the primary level for fear that they might lose their wits if exposed to too much reading and thinking.

If a town lacked a schoolhouse, classes could be held in the meetinghouse. Teachers were paid a meager stipend, supplied with produce, and if not resident of the town, were “boarded around” with townsfolk. Families were also expected to provide wood for the school’s stove – a task that was often neglected until a child came home and complained of shivering through the day in the wintriest corner of the drafty room.

The daily routine was tied to the sun’s cycle. During most of the year the day began at 7:00 A.M. and ended sometime between 5:00 and 9:00 P.M. with a two-hour break. In winter months the schedule ran from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Primitive and simple though the system was, children who spent even two or three years in these schools did learn enough to become familiar with the laws of the land – and to keep the “ould* deluder” at bay.

*archaic spelling

Love & Marriage in America’s Past – Judge Sewall Woos the Widows

Shortly after his wife died in 1717, Judge Samuel Sewall of Boston, Massachusetts, confided to his diary that he was “Wandering in my mind whether to live a Single or a Married Life.” And well he might: since Puritan America frowned on the unmarried, a widow or widower usually hastened to recommit to a suitable companion. A proposal, in fact, might be offered within weeks, or even days, of a spouse’s death.

In Sewall’s case, thanks to his voluminous, minutely detailed diaries, we have an unusually complete record of one widower’s return to wedlock. Following a brief but unsuccessful overture to Widow Winthrop, Sewall entered serious negotiations with Widow Denison. On the day of Mr. Denison’s funeral Sewall had impulsively confided to his diary that he hoped “to keep house” with the widow. Their courtship was affectionate, but the pension of 250 pounds a year that offered her, should he die, was no match for the estate left by the late Mr. Denison – a portion of which she would forfeit if she remarried. With regret on both sides, the dalliance ended in the winter of 1718.

Success came at last to Sewall on Thanksgiving Day in 1719, when he married Widow Tilley. His bride, however, fell ill and died the following May. Single once again, the judge’s attention returned to Widow Winthrop. But she, having once “done very generously … in giving up her Dower” and stung, perhaps, by the judge’s earlier abandonment, was anything but encouraging. After months of persistent pursuit on his part and an unrelenting cold shoulder on hers, Sewall gave up the chase.

Following a flurry of interest in three more prospective mates, Sewall eventually proposed to Widow Gibbs. “Aged, feeble, and exhausted as I am,” he wrote to his intended, “your favourable Answer … much obliged.” Her reply, though favorable, was followed by some sharp prenuptial bargaining; but on April 1, 1722, the indefatigable suitor Sewall at last “sat with my wife in her pew.”

bargaining noun [uncountable] the negotiation of terms of a transaction or agreement In the West when you go to the open-air market, the prices are fixed, but in other countries bargaining is the norm.

bride noun [countable] a women is getting married, or who has recently married

cold shoulder noun an unfriendly manner or way to get / be given a cold shoulder [informal]: to be treated in an unfriendly way by someone you know

confide verb [transitive / intransitive] to tell someone a secret or discuss your private feelings with someone confide something to someone: He confided his doubts to me

courtship noun [countable / uncountable] the period of time when a man and a woman have a romantic relationship with each other, before they get married In Victorian times, courtship was considered more a career move than a romantic interlude for young men, as all a woman’s property reverted to him upon marriage.

dalliance noun [formal - uncountable] short period of time when someone is involved or interested in something but not in a serious way

estate noun [usually singular] all the property or money that belongs to someone, especially someone who has just died In order to pay off his taxes and debts, the widow was forced to sell off her husband’s estate.

exhausted adjective extremely tired and without enough energy to do anything else The exhausted skiers looked forward to a good night’s sleep. Trying to find a solution to our problem has left me mentally exhausted.

feeble adjective physically weak, especially because you are old or ill; not strong a feeble voice

flurry noun [usually singular] a short period of activity or emotion; a series of things that happen suddenly There was a flurry of activity in Strasbourg these last two days because of the NATO summit.

forfeit verb [transitive] to be forced to give up a right, a benefit or something you own If they moved away, they would forfeit all rights to their land.

frown on or frown upon phrasal verb [transitive] to not approve of something Personal phone calls are frowned on at work.

give up the chase verb expression [irregular] the act of trying to get something you want Finally the snake made its way into the reeds on the edge of the lake when the birds gave up the chase. The French national team won’t give up the chase for a world title.

hasten verb [transitive] to make something happen sooner or more quickly The government made a plea for financial aid to hasten the disarmament of more than 60,000 rebels. hasten to do something:  Scientists have hastened to challenge his findings.

impulsively adverb without thinking about the results of one’s actions In his blind rage for revenge, he impulsively pulled the trigger shooting his wife’s murderer.

indefatigable adjective [formal] never showing signs of getting tired The American military is at a loss about figuring out the seemingly indefatigable Iraqi insurgency.

intended noun [old fashioned - countable] the person who someone plans to marry

mate noun [formal - countable] a spouse (husband or wife) Do you tell your mate everything?

minutely detailed adjective many small facts and aspects are given a lot of careful attention Security forces used minutely detailed plans to ensure the protection of world leaders at the NATO summit.

much obliged expression [formal] used to thank someone politely I’m much obliged to you.

no match for expression not as good, strong, clever, etc.. as someone or something your competing against Despite thorough preparation, England’s cricketers were no match for India.

pew noun [countable] a long wooden seat in a church

sharp adjective a sharp comment, voice or expression shows that someone is unfriendly or annoyed The deal has come under sharp criticism from the opposite parties.

spouse noun [formal - transitive] a husband or a wife Many world leaders brought their spouses to the international NATO summit.

sting (stung, stung) irregular verb [transitive] to affect someone, often causing them to react in a particular way; to make some feel angry or upset Stung by their recent defeat, the French are determined to win this time. She was stung by her father’s criticism.

suitable adjective right for a particular purpose, person or situation It’s difficult for students to find suitable accommodation. This film is not suitable for young children.

suitor noun [old fashion - countable] a man who wants to get married to a particular woman

unrelenting adjective used to describe someone’s actions or feelings which continue with determination unrelenting hatred

wander verb [intransitive] if your mind or your thoughts wander, you stop concentrating and start thinking about other things, especially because you are bored or worried As soon as I try to work, my mind starts wandering.

wedlock noun [old fashioned - uncountable] the state of being married in / out of wedlock: He was born out of wedlock (= his parents were not married).

widow noun [countable] a woman whose husband has died and who has not married again

widower noun [countable] a man whose wife has died and who has not married again

woo verb [old fashioned – transitive] if a man woos a woman, he tries to start a romantic relationship with her and to persuade her to marry him

Taken from Reader’s Digest Rediscovering America’s Past – Customs, Legends, History & Lore of Our Great Nation 1993