2013 Home for the Holidays Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 3
What does President Lincoln have
to do with Thanksgiving today?
W
hen we think of Thanksgiving today,
various images of Pilgrims and Indians,
eating turkey, families getting together,
and the large amount of shopping to be done on
Black Friday come to mind. Most Americans do
not tend to think of President Abraham Lincoln
and his contribution to Thanksgiving.
Throughout our nation’s history, Thanksgiving has
been a day set aside in the autumn when people
give thanks for what they have been given. This
tradition has progressed from when America was
founded to today, when we sit down and celebrate
with our family and friends. Today we focus on
the family and the food, but during the Civil War,
Thanksgiving espoused the importance of reflec-
tion, silence and prayer.
Throughout Lincoln’s presidency, he issued
numerous proclamations, most pertaining to
the Civil War. But, looking at his writings as
president, there are nine proclamations urging the
American population to take a day to pray, reflect
and repent.
The first one was issued Aug. 12, 1861, in re-
sponse to Congress. The “Proclamation of a
National Fast Day” for the last Thursday in Sep-
tember encouraged Americans to make it a day
of “public humiliation, prayer and fasting, to be
observed by the people of the United States with
religious solemnities, and the offering of fervent
supplications to Almighty God for the safety and
welfare of these States, His blessings on their
arms, and a speedy restoration of peace.”
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This proclamation was issued 3 1/2 months after
the attack on Fort Sumter. By that time 11 states
had seceded from the Union, and in May, Lin-
coln’s good friend Col. Elmer Ellsworth had be-
come the first officer to die in the war. U.S. Gen.
McDowell was also replaced by Gen. George B.
McClellan (he proved to be a problem for Lincoln
during the Civil War). President Lincoln called for
