1787 Ben Franklin Likes The Turkey more than The Bald Eagle

1615 Turkey Tapestry from India

 About the turkey lots of us ate for Thanksgiving, Ben Franklin wrote to his daughter that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.” So, although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not actually propose it become one of America’s most important symbols.

“For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perch’d on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; & when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, & is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate & young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him & takes it from him. With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor & often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly & drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave & honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country, tho’ exactly fit for that Order of Knights which the French call Chevaliers d’Industrie. I am on this account not displeas’d that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For in Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, & withal a true original Native of America. Eagles have been found in all Countries, but the Turkey was peculiar to ours, the first of the Species seen in Europe being brought to France by the Jesuits from Canada, & serv’d up at the Wedding Table of Charles the ninth. He is besides, tho’ a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, & would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.“

See: “From Benjamin Franklin to Sarah Bache, 26 January 1784,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-41-02-0327. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 41, September 16, 1783, through February 29, 1784, ed. Ellen R. Cohn. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2014, pp. 503–511.]

Early American Thanksgivings - 1860s "Mother of Thanksgiving" gets Lincoln to Proclaim the National Holiday

 The 'Mother of Thanksgiving' Lobbied Abraham Lincoln to Support Thanksgiving

History.com By Barbara Maranzani Nov 21, 2019

The author of the children's poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was persistent in arguing that establishing the national November holiday could help heal wounds from the Civil War.

Secretary of State William Seward wrote it & Abraham Lincoln issued it, but much of the credit for the Thanksgiving Proclamation should probably go to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. 

A prominent writer & editor, Hale had written the children’s poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” originally known as “Mary’s Lamb,” in 1830 & helped found the American Ladies Magazine, which she used a platform to promote women’s issues. In 1837, she was offered the editorship of Godey’s Lady Book, where she would remain for more than 40 years, shepherding the magazine to a circulation of more than 150,000 by the eve of the Civil War & turning it into one of the most influential periodicals in the country. 

In addition to her publishing work, Hale was a committed advocate for women’s education (including the creation of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York), & raised funds to construct Massachusetts’s Bunker Hill Monument & save George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

The New Hampshire-born Hale had grown up regularly celebrating an annual Thanksgiving holiday, & in 1827 published a novel, Northwood: A Tale of New England, that included an entire chapter about the fall tradition, already popular in parts of the nation. While at Godey’s, Hale often wrote editorials & articles about the holiday & she lobbied state & federal officials to pass legislation creating a fixed, national day of thanks on the last Thursday of November. She believed that such a unifying measure could help ease growing tensions  &  divisions between the northern  &  southern parts of the country. Her efforts paid off: By 1854, more than 30 states & U.S. territories had a Thanksgiving celebration on the books, but Hale’s vision of a national holiday remained unfulfilled.

The concept of a national Thanksgiving did not originate with Hale, & in fact the idea had been around since the earliest days of the republic. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress issued proclamations declaring several days of thanks, in honor of military victories. 

In 1789, a newly inaugurated George Washington called for a national day of thanks to celebrate both the end of the war & the recent ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Both John Adams  &  James Madison issued similar proclamations of their own, though fellow Founding Father Thomas Jefferson felt the religious connotations surrounding the event were out of place in a nation founded on the separation of church & state, & no formal declarations were issued after 1815.

The outbreak of war in April 1861 did little to stop Sarah Josepha Hale’s efforts to create such a holiday, however. She continued to write editorials on the subject, urging Americans to “put aside sectional feelings & local incidents” & rally around the unifying cause of Thanksgiving. And the holiday continued, despite hostilities, in both the Union & the Confederacy. 

In 1861 & 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued Thanksgiving Day proclamations following Southern victories. Abraham Lincoln himself called for a day of thanks in April 1862, following Union victories at Fort Donelson, Fort Henry & at Shiloh, & again in the summer of 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Shortly after Lincoln’s summer proclamation, Hale wrote to both the president & Secretary of State William Seward, once again urging them to declare a national Thanksgiving, stating that only the chief executive had the power to make the holiday, “permanently, an American custom & institution.” 

Whether Lincoln was already predisposed to issue such a proclamation before receiving Hale’s letter of September 28 remains unclear. What is certain is that within a week, Seward had drafted Lincoln’s official proclamation fixing the national observation of Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November, a move the 2 men hoped would help “heal the wounds of the nation.”

After more than 3 decades of lobbying, Sarah Josepha Hale (& the United States) had a national holiday.

1793 Samuel Lane (1718-1806) Thankful in 18C New Hampshire

 Samuel Lane's Home in Stratham, New Hampshire.

One of my favorite looks at Thanksgiving in Early America was written on Thursday, November 21, 1793 by 75 year old Samuel Lane  (1718-1806) of Stratham, New Hampshire.

"As I was musing on my Bed being awake as Usual before Daylight;  recollecting the Many Mercies and good things I enjoy for which I ought to be thankful this Day;

The Life & health of myself and family, and also of so many of my Children,  grand Children and great grandchildren...

for my Bible and Many other good and Useful Books,  Civil and Religious Priviledges...

for my Land,  House and Barn and other Buildings,  & that they are preserv'd from fire & other accidents.

for my wearing Clothes to keep me warm,  my Bed & Bedding to rest upon.

for my Cattle,  Sheep & Swine & other Creatures,  for my support.

for my Corn, Wheat,  Rye Grass and Hay;  Wool,  flax,  Syder,  Apples,  Pumpkins,  Potatoes,  cabages,  tirnips, Carrots,  Beets,  peaches and other fruit.

For my Clock and Watch to measure my passing time by Day and by Night.

Wood,  Water,  Butter,  Cheese,  Milk,  Pork,  Beefe,  & fish, &c.

for Tea,  Sugar,  Rum,  Wine,  Gin,  Molasses,  peper,  Spice &  Money for to bye other Necessaries and to pay my Debts and Taxes &c.

for my lether,  Lamp oyl &  Candles,  Husbandry Utensils, & other tools of every sort...

Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Bless his holy Name..."

When Samuel Lane was born on October 6, 1718, in Hampton, New Hampshire, his father Joshua, a shoemaker, was 22 & his mother, Bathsheba Robie, was 22. Samuel expanded his childhood training to become a shoemaker into a thriving shoemaking business & other enterprises employing others. Samuel died on December 29, 1806, in Stratham, New Hampshire, at age 88, & was buried there.

1801 Tho Jefferson’s Complicated Relationship with Thanksgiving

 

Thomas Jefferson’s Complicated Relationship with Thanksgiving 

The third president declined to participate in the tradition.

"Since the United States became a nation, people have come together to count their blessings, feast on bountiful foods & give thanks with family & friends...But there’s one president who refused to endorse the tradition: Thomas Jefferson.

"Ever since Jefferson first declined to mark the day in 1801, rumors have swirled that the 3rd president despised the event. But it was more complicated than that. For Jefferson, supporting Thanksgiving meant supporting state-sponsored religion, & it was his aversion to mixing church & state that earned him a reputation as America’s only anti-Thanksgiving president.

"In Jefferson’s time, Thanksgiving as a national holiday didn’t exist at all. The formal observance of Thanksgiving Day only began in 1863, when Lincoln proclaimed the holiday in response to the horrors of the Civil War. By then, the tradition of giving thanks as a nation had been in place since 1777, when Congress declared a national day of thanksgiving after America’s victory at the Battle of Saratoga. Afterward, presidents would proclaim periodic days of fasting, prayer & expressing gratitude.

"But not Jefferson. When he became president, he stopped declaring the holidays that George Washington & John Adams had so enthusiastically supported—and in 1802, he flirted with telling the nation why.

"Shortly after his inauguration, a Baptist group in Connecticut wrote a letter to Jefferson congratulating him on his election & expressing concern about the state’s constitution, which didn’t specifically provide for religious liberty. Baptists had long beenpersecuted in the colonies due to their emotional religious ceremonies, their decision to baptize adults instead of children, & their belief in the separation of church & state. The Baptist Association of Danbury wanted to be sure that they’d be protected under Jefferson’s presidency.

"Jefferson saw this as an opportunity to explain his views on state-sponsored religion. “I have long wished to find [an occasion to say] why I do not proclaim fastings & thanksgivings, as my predecessors did,” Jefferson wrote to his attorney general & friend, Levi Lincoln.

"At the time, Jefferson’s political enemies, the Federalists, loved to use his stance on the separation of church & state as a political cudgel, convincing Americans that he was an atheist who was making America less godly. Perhaps his response to the Baptists, which would be widely read, could make his views clearer & protect him against those slurs.

"In an early draft of the letter, Jefferson faced the Federalist accusations head-on, explaining that he considered declaring fasts or days of thanksgiving to be expressions of religion & that he opposed them because they were remnants of Britain’s reign over the American colonies.

"But Levi Lincoln warned him that his words might be construed as a criticism of New England, where feast of thanksgiving had become a beloved tradition. After careful consideration, Jefferson decided to drop the reference from his letter. His public reply to the Danbury Baptists didn’t include a comment on public celebrations of thanksgiving. Rather, Jefferson told them he believed in “a wall of separation between Church & State.”

"Jefferson paid the political price for that edit. “Withholding from the public the rationale for his policy on thanksgivings & fasts did not solve Jefferson’s problem, ”writes historian James Hutson. Since the public didn’t know the reasoning behind his lack of thanksgiving proclamations, says Hutson, he remained vulnerable to Federalist attacks that accused him of godlessness.

"In fact, Jefferson had once declared a Thanksgiving of his own: In 1779, while serving as governor of Virginia, he declared a day of Thanksgiving & Prayer. In 1808, he explained why he had been willing to do so as governor, but not president. Jefferson believed he could not endorse such a holiday without running afoul of the First Amendment—and furthermore, he considered days of thanksgiving the responsibility of the states, not the federal government.

"For Jefferson, it was more important to maintain a strict separation of church & state than to cave in to the public’s love of giving thanks. But since he never explained himself in public, American citizens never got the chance to appreciate his principled stance on the holiday. Jefferson’s public silence on Thanksgiving spun out into a centuries-long rumor that he was a Turkey Day grinch—especially when his successor, James Madison, resuscitated the tradition in 1815."

See: History.com By Erin Blakemore Nov 18, 2019 update of Nov 21, 2017

1789 Fuss about Geo Washington's National Day of Thanksgiving

The First Presidential National Day of Thanksgiving

In Congress, Elias Boudinot introduced a resolution to create a joint committee to "wait on the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the people a day of public prayer & thanksgiving,"

The resolution was opposed by Anti-Federalists, who opposed increased power of the central government. Chief among the opposition were Aedanus Burke, & Thomas Tudor Tucker. 

Burke was of the opinion that the holiday was too "European." He "did not like this mimicking of European customs, where they made a mere mockery of thanksgivings." Burke was referencing the fact that at thanksgivings, both sides of a war often sang Te Deum, a hymn of praise. He was objecting that both the winners & losers in a war gave thanksgiving. Tucker however, felt that the federal government did not have the power to propose a day of thanksgiving. He was of the opinion that "If a day of thanksgiving must take place, let it be done by the authority of the States." 

Tucker also worried about the separation of church & state, as in his opinion, proclaiming a day of thanksgiving was a religious matter.

In the end, the resolution passed the House & the Senate, & a committee of Elias Boudinot, Roger Sherman, Peter Silvester, William Samuel Johnson, & Ralph Izard delivered the message to Washington on or before September 28, 1789. President Washington noted that "both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested [him] 'to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving & prayer.'" 

It was formally declared on November 26 to "be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great & glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be." President George Washington made this proclamation on October 3, 1789 in New York City.

On the day of thanksgiving, Washington attended services at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City, & donated beer & food to imprisoned debtors in the city.

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, & humbly to implore His protection & favor, & 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 & 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 & happiness. Now therefore I do recommend & assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great & 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 & humble thanks, for His kind care & protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal & manifold mercies, & the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course & conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, & plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable & rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety & happiness, & particularly the national one now lately instituted, for the civil & religious liberty with which we are blessed; & the means we have of acquiring & diffusing useful knowledge; & in general for all the great & various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us. & also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers & supplications to the great Lord & Ruler of Nations & beseech Him to pardon our national & other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several & relative duties properly & punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, & constitutional laws, discreetly & faithfully executed & obeyed, to protect & guide all Sovereigns & Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) & to bless them with good government, peace, & concord. To promote the knowledge & practice of true religion & virtue, & the increase of science among them & Us, & generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my h& at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington