Brief history of Thanksgiving in the United States. 1. 1607-1610. Thanksgiving services to God were routine in what was to become the Commonwealth of Virginia as early as 1607, and the first permanent settlement of Jamestown, Virginia held a thanksgiving to God in 1610. 2. December 4, 1619, 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred, today known as Charles City/County Virginia. The groups charter required that the day of arrival be observed yearly as a day of thanksgiving to God. On that first day, Captain John Woodlief held the service of thanksgiving. 3. September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers. Their written compact states their two fold purpose in sailing to a new land. For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth. Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. 45 0f the 102 Pilgrims on the Mayflower died that first winter of 1620-21, 4. 1621. The event that Americans commonly call the First Thanksgiving, was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October of 1621. This feast lasted three days. It was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating thanksgivings—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. From the accounts of Edward Winslows letter dated Dec. 12, 1621 and William Bradfords letter a few years later, the feast consisted of corn, barley, cod, bass, other fish, 5 deer provided by Indians, fowl, and wild turkeys which God provided in abundance. 5. 1777. The First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was given by the Continental Congress in 1777 from its temporary location in York, Pennsylvania, while the British occupied the national capital at Philadelphia. Delegate Samuel Adams created the first draft. Congress then adapted the final version: 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 Blessings 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 Acknowledgments 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. 6. November 5, 1782. By the United States in Congress assembled, PROCLAMATION. It being the indispensable duty of all nations, not only to offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good, for His gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner, to give Him praise for His goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of His Providence in their behalf; therefore, the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of Divine goodness to these States in the course of the important conflict, in which they have been so long engaged, – the present happy and promising state of public affairs, and the events of the war in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils which is so necessary to the success of the public cause, – the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them, – the success of the arms of the United States and those of their allies, – and the acknowledgment of their Independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States; Do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe and request the several states to interpose their authority, in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF NOVEMBER next as a day of SOLEMN THANKSGIVING to GOD for all His mercies; and they do further recommend to all ranks to testify their gratitude to God for His goodness by a cheerful obedience to His laws and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness. Done in Congress at Philadelphia, the eleventh day of October, in the year of our LORD, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh. 7. 1863. Thanksgiving became an official Federal holiday in 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens, to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. As a federal and public holiday in the U.S. 8. 1939 to 1941 Abraham Lincolns successors as president followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving. But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with this tradition. November had five Thursdays that year and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving rather than the fifth one. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. Increasing profits and spending during this period, Roosevelt hoped, would help bring the country out of the Depression. At the time, advertising goods for Christmas before Thanksgiving was considered inappropriate. Fred Lazarus, Jr., founder of the Federated Department Stores (later Macys), is credited with convincing Roosevelt to push Thanksgiving to a week earlier to expand the shopping season, and within two years the change passed through Congress into law. Republicans decried the change, calling it an affront to the memory of Lincoln. People began referring to November 30 as the Republican Thanksgiving and November 23 as the Democratic Thanksgiving or Franksgiving. Regardless of the politics, many localities had made a tradition of celebrating on the last Thursday. Since a presidential declaration of Thanksgiving Day was not legally binding, Roosevelts change was widely disregarded. Twenty-three states went along with Roosevelts recommendation, 22 did not, and some, like Texas, took both days as government holidays. 9. In 1940 and 1941, years in which November had four Thursdays, Roosevelt declared the third one as Thanksgiving. As in 1939, some states went along with the change while others retained the traditional last-Thursday date. 10. On October 6, 1941, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution fixing the traditional last-Thursday date for the holiday beginning in 1942. However, in December of that year the Senate passed an amendment to the resolution that split the difference by requiring that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes (less frequently) the next to last. The amendment also passed the House, and on December 26, 1941, President Roosevelt signed this bill, for the first time making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law and fixing the day as the fourth Thursday of November. Note: The first President to make a Thanksgiving decision based upon money and not thanks to Almighty God was Roosevelt. No wonder kids today dont know the meaning of holidays (holy days). Its not turkey day. Its thanksgiving to God day for all His wonderful blessings bestowed upon us in this great land. And to think the Barrack Hussein Obama told the Muslim country of Turkey that the U.S. is not a Christian nation. For some people history began when they woke up this morning! With out apology. Dr. Bryan Sharp.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 18:37:11 +0000
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