Colonists and Native Americans gave thanks for various things throughout the year such as bountiful crops, cooperative weather, and battle victories. Prior to the permanent establishment of a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, state governors set their own dates, usually in November or December, and if they felt there was nothing for which to be thankful, they might not hold a celebration. Before Thanksgiving celebrations were to be held, proclamations such as this one were printed and posted in public places and/or read aloud during church services. In this 1861 proclamation, Massachusetts Governor John Andrew set the date of the state’s celebration for Thursday, November 21. With the curent Civil War (1861-1865) heavily in mind, he asked that citizens be thankful “For the precious and rare possession of so much devoted valor and manly heroism; For the sentiment of pious duty which distinguished our fallen in the camp and in the field” and he asked that “the controversy in which we stand be found worthy, in its consummation, of the heroic sacrifices of the people and the precious blood of their sons, of the doctrine and faith of the fathers, and consistent with the honor of God with justice to all men.”
Andrew, John A. A Proclamation For A Day Of Thanksgiving and Praise. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, October 31, 1861. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-150/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.