Pilgrims sailed to America from Holland to escape
religious persecution. In the hope of a better life, they took the help of a
London stock company to move out to America and set sail aboard a ship called
the Mayflower.
They reached Plymouth in 1620. There, they had to face a terrible winter.
Around 46 of the original 102 had died by the next fall. But fortune turned in
their favor and the harvest of the next year was plentiful. The remaining
colonists decided to celebrate with a feast, including 91 Indians who had
helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims
would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The
feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true
"thanksgiving" observance. It lasted for three days. Governor William
Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is
not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain
that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to
mean any sort of wild fowl.
On
June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a
meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had
seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed
Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is
notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the
Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the
colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives". October of 1777
marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving
celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at
Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of
Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among
the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a
national holiday.
Later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of
thanksgiving. It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts
eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials
championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's
Lady's Book.
Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to
governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863,
President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of
Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was
changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up
one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas
shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to
move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later.
In 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday on
the fourth Thursday in November.