A Nation Built on Thankfulness
As we celebrate a holiday centered on our gratitude and thankfulness for all the blessings we have been given, we must also reflect on our nation’s history and the significance behind Thanksgiving Day.
Most often associated with the feast depicted in our history books from colonial days, we recall the first harvest shared by the pilgrims to thank God for their blessings and the abundant harvest they received during a time marked by great uncertainty. While this feast was celebrated at Plymouth colony in 1621, and loosely maintained by the generations to follow, it wouldn’t be for almost two more centuries that our nation would properly observe this day.
During the Revolutionary War, our Founding Fathers observed a day of thanksgiving that took on a whole new meaning. After the British army surrendered to the Americans at the Battle of Saratoga, General George Washington agreed to the Continental Congress’ suggestion of observing a national day of thanksgiving to commemorate this victory. The proclamation was signed, designating December 18, 1777, as our nation’s first Thanksgiving Day.
It wasn’t until the Civil War era, however, that Thanksgiving Day was regularly observed, when President Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in 1863. For 162 years, our nation has set aside this day as a day of thankfulness.
May we continue to be thankful for the blessings we have been given: our nation’s farmers who are responsible for providing food for our tables, our teachers who pour into and shape the minds of future leaders, and our troops who defend the freedoms we are so blessed to have.
When we take a moment to reflect on all that we have been given, my hope is that we will be reminded of how blessed our nation truly is. And that we will never forget the generations who have come before us to secure these gifts, urging us to press forward and do the same for future generations. I am certainly thankful for the opportunity to serve the Fourth District of Arkansas, and I wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.