Day Of Thanksgiving During The Civil War

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By the time of the Civil War, every state had established an annual day of thanksgiving to express gratitude for general blessings. The date for Thanksgiving Day was set by individual governors, that could lead to variety of results: most states celebrated in November, a few marked the day in October or early December. In early years of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis issued proclamations appointing days of thanksgiving for military victories. These proclamations referred to God - “the Sovereign Disposer of events” (Davis) and “the Lord of Hosts” (Lincoln), but unlike the Thanksgiving proclamations sometimes issued by governors, they were not Christianized. It seems that two presidents followed the example of Washington, …show more content…

He called for a day of national humiliation and prayer- not a day of thanksgiving to be held throughout the Confederacy on November 15. In April 1862, Lincoln issued a proclamation following military victories on the Union side and did not set aside a separate day of thanksgiving. Later in 1862, Davis also issued a proclamation of thanks for Confederate victories over the Union army and set a day of thanksgiving and worship for Thursday, September 18. The final thanksgiving for a military victory was proclaimed by Lincoln when he named Thursday, August 6,1863 as the day of “national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer.” All Lincoln and Davis’s proclamations were only aimed to their separated own populations: Northerners in Lincoln ‘s case and Southerners in Davis’s. It is necessary to have the more remarkable one with the united …show more content…

She is the person who used her position as editor of the most popular magazine of the pre-Civil War era to conduct a years-long campaign for a national Thanksgiving holiday. Hale saw Thanksgiving as s patriotic occasion along with the Fourth of July and Washington’s Birthday. Moreover, she also saw Thanksgiving, with its emphasis on family reunions and a special meal, as falling into the feminine sphere. It reflected, too, what she saw as the generous spirit of the American people. Hale first wrote about Thanksgiving in 1827, in the “Northwood: A Tale of New England” novel, devoting a chapter to describing a Thanksgiving that a visitor from England celebrates with a family in New Hampshire. She took up the topic again in “Traits of American Life”, a book of essays published in 1835. The second edition of “Northwood”, published in 1852 a subtitled “Life North and South,” expanded on the notion of Thanksgiving and called for it to become a national event. Especially, “Godey’s Lady’s Books” was a powerful platform to encourage the celebration of Thanksgiving in all corners of the expanding country. This magazine printed a recommended menu for Thanksgiving dinner that included in New England classics as well as sweet potato pudding, a Southern standard. She also promoted her campaign by publishing recipes for traditional Thanksgiving dishes such as roast turkey and

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