Sarah Josepha Hale: The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving a National Holiday" - Part 1 of Our Thanksgiving Series On October 3, 1863, as the Civil War raged across a divided nation, President Abraham Lincoln took a moment to focus on gratitude. With the stroke of a pen, he established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, fulfilling a dream that one determined woman had pursued for nearly two decades. The story of how Thanksgiving became a unified American celebration weaves together persistence, politics, and the power of the written word. Sarah Josepha Hale, often remembered today as the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," was far more than a children's poet. As the influential editor of Godey's Lady's Book, the most widely circulated magazine in pre-Civil War America, she wielded considerable cultural and political influence. Beginning in 1846, she launched what would become a 17-year campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, seeing it as a way to unite an increasingly fractured nation. Hale's vision of Thanksgiving was both romantic and pragmatic. In her editorials, she painted vivid pictures of families gathered around bountiful tables, sharing not just food but also stories and traditions. She published Thanksgiving recipes, poems, and stories, helping to create the cultural touchstones we now associate with the holiday. But beneath this domestic imagery lay a shrewd understanding of how shared traditions could bind a nation together. Her campaign began during the presidency of Zachary Taylor, with carefully crafted letters arguing for a unified celebration date. Different states celebrated Thanksgiving on different days, if they celebrated it at all. Southern states often ignored the holiday, viewing it as a Northern custom with Puritan roots. Hale saw this disparity as both a practical problem and a missed opportunity for national unity. Year after year, Hale penned editorials and letters, reaching out to governors, presidents, and other influential figures. Her letters to five successive presidents - Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and finally Lincoln - show a remarkable evolution in her argument. What began as a plea for cultural unity became, during the darkening days before the Civil War, an urgent call for national preservation. The responses she received illuminate the political complexities of the era. President Fillmore expressed interest but feared setting a precedent for federal involvement in religious matters. Pierce politely declined, viewing it as a state issue. Buchanan, preoccupied with mounting sectional tensions, never formally responded. But Hale persisted, adapting her arguments to the changing national mood. Her letters to Lincoln began in 1861, just as the Civil War was starting. She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritative fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The timing of Lincoln's eventual acceptance was significant. By autumn 1863, the tide of war had shifted slightly in the Union's favor. The Battle of Gettysburg had ended in Union victory, though at a devastating cost. The president, deeply affected by the war's mounting casualties, had recently visited the Gettysburg battlefield. His decision to embrace Thanksgiving came at a moment when the nation desperately needed healing and hope. The immediate implementation of Lincoln's proclamation revealed both the power and limitations of presidential authority in 1863. While Northern states quickly adopted the designated Thursday, compliance wasn't universal. Some states maintained their traditional dates alongside the national observance, creating a period of thanksgiving rather than a single day. This flexibility actually helped the holiday take root, allowing local traditions to gradually align with the national celebration. The first nationally recognized Thanksgiving under Lincoln's proclamation occurred on November 26, 1863. Despite the ongoing war, or perhaps because of it, the response was remarkable. Military camps held special meals, with commanders making extraordinary efforts to provide turkey and traditional fixings to their troops. Home-front celebrations often included empty chairs at tables, symbolizing family members away at war, a tradition that would continue long after the conflict ended. Sarah Josepha Hale's reaction to Lincoln's proclamation was one of quiet triumph. In her editorial for Godey's Lady's Book, she wrote, "Our national thanksgiving festival will now be observed on the same day throughout the land... The influence of these gatherings will be invaluable to our national union." She continued publishing Thanksgiving-themed content, but now focused on helping Americans develop shared traditions rather than arguing for the holiday's establishment. The proclamation's...
