It had been more than two years since the attack on Fort Sumter by the Confederates, and tens of thousands of Americans had been killed or maimed by the protracted conflict. At the suggestion of a renowned magazine editor, Sarah Hale, President Lincoln decided to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation. Over a few paragraphs, which thanked God for his blessings despite the scourge of war, the last Thursday in November was officially established as an annual holiday of national gratitude..
It must have struck more than a few citizens as somewhat illogical to have a day set aside to express thankfulness as hundreds of thousands of people suffered through a period of unprecedented violence.
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The months prior to the announcement of a 'fixed' Thanksgiving on 3 October 1863 were among the most tumultuous during the Civil War. In attempting to realize Jefferson's famous words 'all men are created equal', Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year's Day. As slaves were freed in states rebelling against the Union, they could be used as soldiers in the Union army to defeat the enemy.
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In March, Lincoln authorized a 'Conscription Act' which mandated military service from a considerable segment of the population. Massive riots broke out in New York City resulting in looting and several deaths, and the unrest was only quelled with the arrival of Federal troops.
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In early May, General Joseph Hooker retreated from Confederate forces near the Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Lincoln become melancholy.
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Later that month, Lincoln's spirits were buoyed by word of an impressive victory in the 'Western' theater. A newcomer, Ulysses S. Grant, had managed to overrun the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. His career as a soldier, once plagued by alcoholism, had taken a decisive turn for the better.
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From 1-3 July, General George Meade repelled the forces of General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in a gruesome battle resulting in a combined death toll of nearly 50,000. Lee's army was crippled and unable to mount a major offensive for the rest of the war.
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In September, Union hopes for a follow-up victory and an end to the war faded as Union forces were defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga on the border of Tennessee and Georgia.
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Considering the stress, the strife and the sordid events of the day, why did Lincoln propose a national Thanksgiving holiday? The answer can be found in the Gettysburg Address.
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Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
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In short, Lincoln was thankful to live in a country that not only valued freedom in words but through sacrifice. As the Revolutionary era band of brothers fought to secure liberty, the Union forces were valiantly attempting to defend their legacy in a democratic experiment that Lincoln termed 'the last, best hope on earth.'
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For the sacrifices of all Americans in preserving liberty and rooting out economic, political and social injustice both at home and around the world, we should all be thankful.
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J Roquen