In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared “a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise” — after receiving an impassioned letter from magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale.
James Reid Lambdin / Richard ’s Free LibraryAn 1831 portrait of Sarah Hale as a unseasoned womanhood .
Before magazine editor and writer Sarah Josepha Hale began her drive to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the United States , the day was mostly lionise in New England , where unlike state of matter set different engagement . Meanwhile , the holiday was unfamiliar to many in the South .
But in 1827 , Hale published a pop novel , Northwood . “ We have too few holidays , ” she proclaimed in the book . “ Thanksgiving , like the Fourth of July , should be a national festival observed by all the multitude . ”
James Reid Lambdin/Richard’s Free LibraryAn 1831 portrait of Sarah Hale as a young woman.
Hale believed that Thanksgiving would instruct Americans about their “ republican institutions . ” She was determined to make Thanksgiving a home vacation , and she spend over three decades publishing column argue her vitrine and writing to politico in Leslie Townes Hope of gain their support .
As the “ lady editor in chief ” ofGodey ’s Lady ’s Book — and the first female editor in chief of an American magazine — Hale had a unique ability to influence American cultivation . She urged her reader to lionise Thanksgiving , published verse form about the vacation , and printed recipes for knock turkey and pumpkin Proto-Indo European .
It look at years , but in 1863 , President Abraham Lincoln finally proclaimed “ a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise ” — following a letter from Sarah Josepha Hale . So how did Hale succeed in turning Thanksgiving into a national holiday — and why have most Americans forgotten her story today ?
New York Public LibraryA portrait of Sarah Josepha Hale.
From “Mary Had A Little Lamb” To Saving George Washington’s Mount Vernon
New York Public LibraryA portrait of Sarah Josepha Hale .
Born on October 24 , 1788 , in Newport , New Hampshire , Sarah Josepha Hale ( née Buell ) grow up in a household that encouraged oddity and acquisition . She was tutored both by her brother , who had studied at Dartmouth , and by her female parent . The whole family often discuss academic questions together .
As an adult , Hale became a school teacher and married her married man , David , when she was 25 . But when David died in 1822 , leaving Hale a untested widow with five children , Hale start writing more — and her career soon took off .
Popular Graphic Arts/Library of CongressAn 1877 illustration of “Little Mary and her lamb.”
In 1823 , she published her first collection of poem , The Genius of Oblivion . Four years later in 1827 , Hale release a novel , Northwood : Life North and South . Soon afterward , she was ask in to blue-pencil a new publication , Ladies ’ cartridge holder . Then , in 1829 , she publishedPoems for Our Children , which included her most famous spell of composition : “ Mary ’s Lamb . ”
Today , it ’s better known as the greenhouse rime “ Mary Had A Little Lamb . ”
Popular Graphic Arts / Library of CongressAn 1877 illustration of “ Little Mary and her lamb . ”
W.B. Chambers/Wikimedia CommonsAn engraving of Sarah Josepha Hale.
“ Mary had a fiddling lamb,/ Its sheepskin was white as snow,/ And every where that Mary went/ The lamb was certain to go;/ He followed her to school day one day—/ That was against the rule,/ It made the children express mirth and play,/ To see a dear at school . ”
( It ’s also worth take note that a author make John Roulstone has also beencited as the authorof this poem , precede to some controversy later on . )
committal to writing help Hale support her mob . But it also grant her to hold up lawsuit that she cared about . In 1833 , she help build the Seaman ’s Aid Society in Boston to support the wives and children of navy man . In 1840 — in short after she became the editor in chief ofGodey ’s Lady ’s Book — Hale and others raised $ 30,000 to nail the Bunker Hill Monument . She also avail preserve George Washington ’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia .
Library of CongressUnion soldiers celebrating Thanksgiving in 1861.
A common motif united Sarah Josepha Hale ’s activism : She want to better her country and boost nationalism . But it was clear that one of her biggest dreams was to make Thanksgiving a interior vacation .
How Sarah Hale Helped Make Thanksgiving A National Holiday
W.B. Chambers / Wikimedia CommonsAn engraving of Sarah Josepha Hale .
Well over a century before Sarah Josepha Hale was born , the“first ” Thanksgivingwas fete bythe Pilgrimsin the autumn of 1621 following a successful harvest . After that , days of “ thanksgiving ” became common across New England , and some early presidents , includingGeorge Washingtonand John Adams , also declare “ days of thanks . ”
In 1817 , New York became the first DoS to make Thanksgiving an prescribed annual holiday . Other northerly states soon followed , though they designated Thanksgiving on unlike day .
Sarah Josepha Hale/Library of CongressThe September 1863 letter that Sarah Josepha Hale sent to President Abraham Lincoln.
Some people in the South were completely incognizant of the holiday , and the Southerners who did know about it often viewed it as a “ Yankee ” solemnization because of its New England origins . It was sometimes decried in the South as “ another manifestation of intrusive , New England moralism , ” and one Virginia governor adamantly refused to support the “ theatrical national bombast that is Thanksgiving . ”
But Hale believed that Thanksgiving should be observe nationally . She write glowingly about it inNorthwood , and start out to formally recommend for it in 1846 . But even though Hale wrote to presidents Zachary Taylor , Millard Fillmore , Franklin Pierce , and James Buchanan , none survey her advice .
Then , in 1861 , theCivil Warbroke out .
Public DomainAbraham Lincoln in 1861.
To Hale , the battle between North and South made Thanksgiving more crucial than ever . In an column , she encouraged readers to “ put away sectioned feelings and local incidents ” to celebrate Thanksgiving .
Library of CongressUnion soldiers celebrating Thanksgiving in 1861 .
rather , the vacation continue to be celebrated on dissimilar day by different radical — including soldiers . In 1862 , Confederate President Jefferson Davis declare “ a day of prayer and thanksgiving ” after a Confederate victory in battle . Meanwhile , the Union State Department celebrated their own “ Thanksgiving ” in 1862 after the Battle of Shiloh and in 1863 after theBattle of Gettysburg .
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and MuseumAbraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation was issued less than a week after Sarah Hale wrote him a letter.
That same twelvemonth , Sarah Josepha Hale make up one’s mind to spell to Abraham Lincoln .
The Letter That Persuaded Abraham Lincoln To Make Thanksgiving A National Holiday
Sarah Josepha Hale / Library of CongressThe September 1863 letter of the alphabet that Sarah Josepha Hale send to President Abraham Lincoln .
On September 28 , 1863 , Sarah Josepha Hale save toAbraham Lincoln .
“ allow me , as Editress of the ‘ Lady ’s Book , ’ to request a few minutes of your treasured time , while set before you a subject of mysterious interest to myself and — as I trust — even to the President of our Republic , of some importance , ” Hale wrote . “ This field of study is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fix Union Festival . ”
Auguste Edouart/National Portrait GalleryA silhouette of Sarah Josepha Hale.
Hale openly linked the holiday with the war movement , calling it “ fitting and patriotic ” to hold Thanksgiving as a “ great Union Festival of America . ” Hale suggest placing Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November and , since that day was just weeks out , she suggested that “ an immediate proclamation ” from the chair “ would be necessary . ”
Public DomainAbraham Lincoln in 1861 .
Hale also wrote to Secretary of State William Seward . And though it ’s unknown how much Hale ’s letter persuaded Seward , the secretary approached the president in other October to discuss Thanksgiving . grant toTeam of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincolnby Doris Kearns Goodwin , Seward pushed for Thanksgiving to become a national vacation , rather of simply lease governors name unlike Clarence Day of thanks . Lincoln cordially agreed and responded that he supposed a president “ had as good a right to thank God as a regulator . ”
Library of CongressThough she had a successful career in a male-dominated industry, Sarah Hale was not a feminist.
Seward had already written an outline for a proclamation , which he and Lincoln bet over together . And on October 3 , 1863 , in short after Sarah Hale had written her letter of the alphabet , Lincoln emerge a proclamation . Declaring the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving , as Hale had suggested , Lincoln stated : “ In the thick of a civil warfare of unequaled magnitude and rigourousness , the American people should take some clock time for gratitude . ”
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and MuseumAbraham Lincoln ’s Thanksgiving promulgation was issued less than a week after Sarah Hale write him a letter .
With that , Thanksgiving became a national holiday that is celebrated across the land to this mean solar day . But Sarah Hale has been more or less blank out .
Why Don’t We Commemorate Sarah Josepha Hale Today?
Auguste Edouart / National Portrait GalleryA silhouette of Sarah Josepha Hale .
Why do n’t we remember Sarah Josepha Hale ?
Hale was an important voice in nineteenth - century America , but she conceive in the “ secret , unsounded influence of womanhood . ” Although she promoted women ’s education and argued for womanhood ’s employment , Hale did not call back women should take a outstanding role in public life-time . And while she may have write to politician , she was against giving womanhood the right to vote .
Hale retired in 1877 , the same year that Thomas Edison used “ Mary Had A Little Lamb ” to record and playact back oral communication for the first time with his record player . Indeed , Hale is perhaps well have a go at it for the baby’s room rime than her activism . She died in Philadelphia in 1879 at the eld of 90 — without ever seeking credit for making Thanksgiving a home holiday .
Library of CongressThough she had a successful career in a male - dominated manufacture , Sarah Hale was not a feminist .
But Sarah Josepha Hale ’s influence on the country has not dimmed . As she long hoped , Thanksgiving has remained a beloved jubilation across the United States . Every November , in every corner of the country , families come together to manipulate turkey and pumpkin Proto-Indo European — and to give thanks .
After this smell at Sarah Hale , learnhow other country celebrate Thanksgiving . Then , hold out these weirdvintage Thanksgiving ads .
