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 young woman.
Before magazine editor and writer Sarah Josepha Hale began her crusade to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the United States, the day was mostly celebrated in New England, where different states set different dates. Meanwhile, the holiday was unfamiliar to many in the South.
But in 1827, Hale published a popular 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 people.”
Hale believed that Thanksgiving would teach Americans about their “republican institutions.” She was determined to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, and she spent over three decades publishing editorials arguing her case and writing to politicians in hopes of gaining their support.
As the “lady editor” of Godey’s Lady’s Book — and the first female editor of an American magazine — Hale had a unique ability to influence American culture. She urged her readers to celebrate Thanksgiving, published poems about the holiday, and printed recipes for roast turkey and pumpkin pie.
It took 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?
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) grew up in a household that encouraged curiosity and learning. She was tutored both by her brother, who had studied at Dartmouth, and by her mother. The whole family often discussed academic questions together.
As an adult, Hale became a schoolteacher and married her husband, David, when she was 25. But when David died in 1822, leaving Hale a young widow with five children, Hale started writing more — and her career soon took off.
In 1823, she published her first collection of poems, The Genius of Oblivion. Four years later in 1827, Hale published a novel, Northwood: Life North and South. Soon afterward, she was invited to edit a new publication, Ladies’ Magazine. Then, in 1829, she published Poems for Our Children, which included her most famous piece of writing: “Mary’s Lamb.”
Today, it’s better known as the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”
Popular Graphic Arts/Library of CongressAn 1877 illustration of “Little Mary and her lamb.”
“Mary had a little lamb,/ Its fleece was white as snow,/ And every where that Mary went/ The lamb was sure to go;/ He followed her to school one day—/ That was against the rule,/ It made the children laugh and play,/ To see a lamb at school.”
(It’s also worth noting that a writer named John Roulstone has also been cited as the author of this poem, leading to some controversy later on.)
Writing helped Hale support her family. But it also allowed her to support causes that she cared about. In 1833, she helped establish the Seaman’s Aid Society in Boston to support the wives and children of sailors. In 1840 — shortly after she became the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book — Hale and others raised $30,000 to complete the Bunker Hill Monument. She also helped preserve George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia.
A common theme united Sarah Josepha Hale’s activism: She wanted to improve her country and promote patriotism. But it was clear that one of her biggest dreams was to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.
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” Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in the autumn of 1621 following a successful harvest. After that, days of “thanksgiving” became common across New England, and some early presidents, including George Washington and John Adams, also declared “days of thanks.”
In 1817, New York became the first state to make Thanksgiving an official annual holiday. Other Northern states soon followed, though they designated Thanksgiving on different days.
Some people in the South were completely unaware of the holiday, and the Southerners who did know about it often viewed it as a “Yankee” celebration 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 claptrap that is Thanksgiving.”
But Hale believed that Thanksgiving should be celebrated nationally. She wrote glowingly about it in Northwood, and began to officially advocate for it in 1846. But even though Hale wrote to presidents Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan, none followed her advice.
Then, in 1861, the Civil War broke out.
To Hale, the conflict between North and South made Thanksgiving more important than ever. In an editorial, she encouraged readers to “put aside sectional feelings and local incidents” to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Library of CongressUnion soldiers celebrating Thanksgiving in 1861.
Instead, the holiday continued to be celebrated on different days by different groups — including soldiers. In 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis declared “a day of prayer and thanksgiving” after a Confederate victory in battle. Meanwhile, the Union states celebrated their own “thanksgivings” in 1862 after the Battle of Shiloh and in 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg.
That same year, Sarah Josepha Hale decided to write to Abraham Lincoln.
The Letter That Persuaded Abraham Lincoln To Make Thanksgiving A National Holiday
Sarah Josepha Hale/Library of CongressThe September 1863 letter that Sarah Josepha Hale sent to President Abraham Lincoln.
On September 28, 1863, Sarah Josepha Hale wrote to Abraham Lincoln.
“Permit me, as Editress of the ‘Lady’s Book,’ to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and — as I trust — even to the President of our Republic, of some importance,” Hale wrote. “This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.”
Hale openly linked the holiday with the war effort, calling it “fitting and patriotic” to hold Thanksgiving as a “great Union Festival of America.” Hale suggested placing Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November and, since that day was just weeks away, she suggested that “an immediate proclamation” from the president “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 early October to discuss Thanksgiving. According to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Seward pushed for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday, instead of simply letting governors name different days of thanks. Lincoln heartily agreed and responded that he supposed a president “had as good a right to thank God as a Governor.”
Seward had already written an outline for a proclamation, which he and Lincoln looked over together. And on October 3, 1863, shortly after Sarah Hale had written her letter, Lincoln issued a proclamation. Declaring the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, as Hale had suggested, Lincoln stated: “In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, the American people should take some time for gratitude.”
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and MuseumAbraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation was issued less than a week after Sarah Hale wrote him a letter.
With that, Thanksgiving became a national holiday that is celebrated across the nation to this day. But Sarah Hale has been more or less forgotten.
Why Don’t We Commemorate Sarah Josepha Hale Today?
Auguste Edouart/National Portrait GalleryA silhouette of Sarah Josepha Hale.
Why don’t we remember Sarah Josepha Hale?
Hale was an important voice in 19th-century America, but she believed in the “secret, silent influence of women.” Although she promoted women’s education and argued for women’s employment, Hale did not think women should take a prominent role in public life. And while she may have written to politicians, she was against giving women the right to vote.
Hale retired in 1877, the same year that Thomas Edison used “Mary Had A Little Lamb” to record and play back speech for the first time with his phonograph. Indeed, Hale is perhaps better known for the nursery rhyme than her activism. She died in Philadelphia in 1879 at the age of 90 — without ever seeking credit for making Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Library of CongressThough she had a successful career in a male-dominated industry, 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 celebration across the United States. Every November, in every corner of the country, families come together to cook turkey and pumpkin pie — and to give thanks.
After this look at Sarah Hale, learn how other countries celebrate Thanksgiving. Then, check out these weird vintage Thanksgiving ads.
