| Show GI V NG PRO CLAM AT ONS Famous Documents From the Time of the Pilgrim fathers Down to the Present Dad Dau Causes For Gluing Thane s I 0 Just what n a Ion long es el established To T Thanksgiving Ing slay In the United Stales really 1 one hu has only to io turn over the musty leaves of oC a certain old book bookIn In the archive room of It the secretary o of state at W ton In that strange volume are many dry Iry and yellow lIol parchments one or of the most Int of Which Is n a time faded Bh sheet t with crooked characters In whIch Is ret forth nn an official procla matlon beginning as follows follow Whereas the Ule Lord LoN our gracIous God 00 1 hath bath lately bestowed several mercies upon UllOn our dear deor native country and Ind so 0 on The dale of this little sheet et etIs Is b Sept 20 I if 1 and It I is the order ot of the court setting Betting Q apart a 11 da day ot of thanks thanksgiving giving That is II In alt probability the day ot of which country hu ha any any record One does dou not n again aln hear ot of a Thanks Thank Thanksgiving giving day proclamation until 1661 The manu manuscript or of this proclamation I Ii cull la at the tho archive room an and l contains no lass INs than I 4 bl hIg m ara sums IUM arguiNg that It was waa written out aul amid much dl and after atler greet It set att a apart trl JUly 19 1591 al ae R a day of pUblic thanksgiving tor such luch mercies III as freedom from diseases for tor protection during so o many year rB In the remote wilderness and for tor the favor faor that 00 Clod 1 hath given I Iu u us In the eyes ees and heart ot of our gracious IOv sovereign tn lord ION and king It sounds Mund rather strange In American ears ara today to hear of their forefathers thus thul for tor the health and Mica Hon of et their gradous lord and ami Six years r later latr th there was al an another another other setting apart Kor Korfe fio fe 5 U as 01 a 11 day da ot of solemn ad hum bl we Unto Almighty God and al also Q thanks for tor the pre liN prevention of the common enemy or of our nation teem infesting our coasts and There are also alo Ions tlonA for lc and 1676 The Cl of such mch a document t et at this seems to ue have an established thin thing and aall In inWil 1 71 the proclamation begins The Th council at this commonwealth eting the man many kindnesses ot of the Lord toward Itla poor i of this colony and Ihn asks alk the people to duly give thInks thanks for tor the blessings ot of the past year In the ot of the proclamations St t and vr wry solemn and staid Itald documents tbt they la Ii the king of 01 nd who gets tl most moat ot of the space In Inthe the document Only three years teara In Intact tact beta before Ih the Declaration ot of lode th there Is a reference to 1 hung OlOr Rn aril Queen Mary Iary But I the cha was as soon lOOn to come In the 1 thanksgiving proclamation b Very unequivocal In Its expression ot of thankfulness for tor deliverance from king kingl l ruts rule liter a 11 long Pt preamble the doe of 1771 somewhat after the man tRan ncr ner of the Declaration or of Independence states RII that whilst British ava ara rice rlee openly and ad British tyranny vigor OUI endeavors to wrest relt from us UI the free exercise ot of those thOle right which hl h heaven alike bestowed bellowed on all mankind and without which human life is II I lees a favor than the grave grae God line hOl glen Eho knee States a just wase ot of tl their Nr worth rth end and of tile the impossibility of resigning tho thaw right to man IMn without the guilt ot of rebellion against t clod treason to the present and treachery to all future gen TIll The then goes gotS on to In Inoke Invoice voice oke thank for tor th the preservation ot of the commander In or of the army and for the reflecting not without III 10 touch of at quiet Iron Irony the Imes through which tm the country was Wat then In thou those early Thanks Thank turkey o and guns must hue have been somewhat Inc mixed up Still this particular procla mitten matlon gives thanks to that Providence which enabled the tho armies to make such stands tandl as 81 have baffled ed the efforts of at our inveterate toes and protected the frontiers from the sword and the wilder and the seacoast from the depre ot of an hostile Sleet fleet and also compelled the emm enemy to vacate arote the cop call Ital and delivered the same Borne from the mortal distemper had visited It There are a dozen signers to thi po paper per which refers reters again and again to and Incidents of the war lit at the showing w 11 what was foremost lit in oer every mans man heart and mind me lh Book Dook of Common Prayer revised In 1118 for tor tM use of the Protestant church In Americo directed Q a form ronn vt of prayer tr and thanksgiving to Almighty Gal for the fruits of the tarth rth and all the other blessings of at ml his merciful providence to 10 be used yearly earl on the trot Thursday In No emb r or on such uch other da day as shall be appointed b by the authority All 11 the thanksgIving proclamations Issued b by the different presidents ot of the republic are aft kept In the library of It the state d department In one OM of the largo bookcases them Each Ench document is b In InbI Ina a bI big brown envelope antI and Is II carefully filed aWl away a series for tor each year Mr The fleet proclamation Issued In this thill connection is IK dated Jan 1 1186 and In one OM sense II of the word this date might I lit be called lIld the birth year ot of the real rul American Thanksgiving da day This first t document le II II signed ned by OK George rge ington and Indorsed by Edward Han Itan hit hi attorney general There Is a ascend proclamation by b James Madison after Riter which h the chief magistrates of this country appear to have forgotten the d day or else the proclamations es the same ame have been Leen lost for tor them Is 18 none until we come down to the Lincoln administration In 1111 there was as Do a significant and nt at atthe the same time n a noble proclamation issued by Governor Caleb Strong In which he refers nt at some length to the war which was al at that time timo taking place This document prays that our notional rulers and ond the government of at Great Britain may be Influenced hl by n a spirit ot of moderation and Justice and that the people le or of both countries ma may remember that Iho they lire are descended from j I the same ancestors and believe In the theme same me gospel ospel of oC salvation and that all obstructions to the establishment ot of an equitable and lasting pence may lie be removed remond It further pro prays that God may preserve the lives ot of the soldiers I and sailors and n asks ks that the country countr be spared from further effusion ot of hu human human man blood In tact taken as a whole the different proclamations ot of thanks thanksgiving giving issued In this country countr stand out unique among state stale documents for tor their solemn beauty and lofty lone Although the United States ot of Amer AmerIca Ica had Q a gl goat eat deal to he be thankful for tor durIng those tong long years between the date dale of o thanksgiving procla motion illation and that ot of Lincoln no pres dent Ident so tar far as 81 we know seems to have oared to issue nue n a proclamation for tor gen general general eral public thanksgiving until A April 10 1St when Lincoln broke silence with his now historic soliciting ex cx ot of thanks thank from his hll people for tor forthe the blessings ot of the pal past In this rues meso sage a e the president especially recommended recommended mended to the people on their next nelt weekly assemblages In their accustom accustomed ed places l ot of pUblic worship that service ot of thanks be made and also allo that the people Implore spiritual consolation In behalf ot of all who ho hn have ve been brought Into nI by casualties and calam ot of sudden and eMI war This proclamation as It stands toda today was al mil written ten In a bold clerical hand and signed by the prell president dent and Secretary Seward One year later the president was called upon to issue his hll second proclamation ot of thanksgiving and this which was July 15 Ilk nil all or of nt has hus n a certain sin sine e and solemnity about It The day set lei apart for tor national thanksgiving praise and prayer W was I Aug 6 This proclamation unlike all 1111 Its III predecessors Will was rl on a 1 silt nut edged sheet ot of parchment ot of unusual size tip Up to 10 this time limo November did not appear to be n popular time for tor thanksgiving though as la II vell uvell known In classical times It h lid d always alas been the autumn and ver ve fitly filly too loo In which thanks were given to th Rods for tor j I plentiful harvests The appropriateness of holding such thank Cere ceremonies monies ut at the time lime when nil all th the liar hor vests and fruits had been Gathered In did not eem to occur to the American mind until the year car 1663 13 when Free Irel Ident Lincoln issued n proclamation calling attention to tho fact of at the country being blessed II fruitful fields and luthe midst of at civil war o unequaled magnitude and severity The Tho president then goes oeo on onto to 10 point out the blessings which have havo the tho United Slates and acts forth the tho ln last t Thursday In without naming the actual date as al a aday aday day ot of thanksgivIng and praise to our beneficent Father who In the heavens nut hut during all that time the shadow hn ot of w war r hun hung darkly over the land I J and aM the hearts or of the people and even the president could not help reo re erring again and again In his message of thank offering to those troubles which 10 lay so 80 heavily on his hll own heart nt at lIu lIme Ile He fervently lIy Implores the I interposition of Almighty Clod to 10 heat the wounds ot of the mutton milan and to restore it us lie soon noon as might be consistent with the divine purpose to the full tull enjoyment of peace and harmony tranquillity and union The third regular thanksgivIng proc Wal issued by Andrew John Johnson son lion on Oct 29 26 and appointed the first Thursday In December as n a da day ot of pa nn thanksgiving to the Creator of the universe for tor these deliver deller ances and blessings ThIs seems to Lo bo bothe the day ever eel cel In thus country The original draft ot of this proclamation la Is written on one page of plain foolscap and is In n the handwriting ot of Secretor Secretary Seward It le 18 Interesting to note the tho different changes emendations and Ions made lIy by the of 01 state Ur Mr Seward seems to changed mind several times during lie tho framing of 01 the document for Cor the page is II full tull of er scratches and erasures The fhe procla matron matlon uvas finally male very ery short the original document lI tilling filling Its one page The secretary seems to have hae had trouble In starting the doe doc which chanced to Ue fo the one after the scar lie He first b begin ln with Whereas it II has pleased Almighty God to nave the then thc save sao to withhold tram from and finally mak trig Ing n a third correction put In to 10 reo re hove the but scratching that out lie ho mIkes makes R a clean start again by rewriting Whereas It has hili pleased Almighty 00 God 1 during the year which has come cometo to nn an end to relieve our beloved coun country try In the groat but again he changed hl his mind and wrote from the fearful scourge ot of civil war and to vouchsafe to us the promise Here another change had to 10 bo be made hanging the the last sentence to read and to per mil us to secure the blessings of If peace unity and harmony with the tho great en enlargement enlargement or of civil liberty It is 18 oleo also alsoto to be noticed that Mr Ir Intended In another sentence before the tho word blessings but apparently wrote It so 10 badly that the copying clerk In desperation left lett It out I tyr Th The rest of the i Is nude made up UJ ot of ota ofa a recommendation for prayer and thanksgiving Johnsons second proclamation was the first to name definitely n dote date Thursday Nov 29 9 nR n a do day or of thanks but bul does not hot mention It as the thelast thelast last Thursday In November tho day Ilay now observed The Tho first official thanksgiving procla matlon of President Grant was as Issued Oct 5 9 and 1 II written on heavy parchment It coe two large pages pagel ot of this parchment a d sets forth Nov Novis j I is 18 as the General Grant seems to have hae n a stereo stereotyped typed form torm or of expression In fn nil all of at his of at this character and most malt maltot ot of them too are I A special Thanksgiving da day was WaR or ordered dared dered In June 1576 setting forth the tel tol louring Fourth of Jul July the centennial of the Independence ot of the States Stille ne I n day or of national thank offering in this thle proclamation Grant says ene The toun founders of the goy gO at Its birth and In its III feelings Invoked blessings and the protection ot of the divine Providence to the 13 12 cot col onles and the have hae expanded Into n a nation of at strength and power commanding n a position whit which was wal then desired and for tor which hl h fervent terent prayers were uvero then offered In view of the tul ful fulfillment of at those prayers the Invites the good people of the United Slates to celebrate the Fourth ot of Jul JulIn July In addition to their u ual observances of at tile tie da day In such lIuch n a manner and In such uch II a time as their respective localities and religious associations make mak most mOlt convenient to mark the occasion by some IOme public or religious or devout thanksgiving to qty T God for tor the blessings which h have been bestowed upon us as n a nation during durin the cen century century tury or of our existence and humbly to do de vote ote the continuance of His 1118 to favor vor and ond His protection The first proclamation issued b by Pus Pres dent Ident Hayes covered four clo closely ely writ written ton ten Jl pages gOS ot of large foolscap and Is still tied with a large u u ribbon The doe cloo is II most beautifully executed All tour four of It this presidents were Vere couched In languaGe graceful and studied and all were very much alike The original copy of the first motion ot of Arthur Issued blued No Noan Nov 6 an 1651 bears Learl In the hand handwriting writing or of air Ir Blaine with also a few rew emendations b by the tho president The last proclamation of Arthur lire is se on account or of It its I brevity for tor after n short hort Introduction It succinctly stales In recognition of at this custom cUllom I Chester L Arthur president of at the United States do as al such 1 a day Ilay of Dr general thanksgiving Thursday the day or of rho present November That practically is the entire When wo we com comb to the regime ot of President Grover Cleveland we 0 find that the Thanksgiving da day proclamations are more lengthy and more dab elaborate orate Even Een the manuscripts of at these thelle addressee for tor such they really are were most malt carefully ornamented by the tho clerk or clerks clerk II who prepared and copied them and the language It self olt is II always a 1 fine quent and lofty sail r I President da tion Is n a tt t r Snout t bl t In bete t e C I ono one pogO ot of t I Ing of three ordinary VoM aei 1 I a c rather br b a It was Wal Ir ar I I h rr h hs ic ca Y Concise and r lout but it arh the tho note ur 1 ot of ln r II i Ity p J ry 1 the s n hh c rOI other more hand hall r hanger and a y UIt It h scholarly I U In ll t I rp so mUch n a if f r It will take tak many H I years to 10 that ar t Inter y 1 eth th l h can beltow ry a dot III C This year r d al Ili a k 11 o f ginning ot of r u ur I Ir n no r f ir people n Ii tt and stripes I as al thI ih r 11 r bo be called U upon on h I I f rr r rother 01 other her year lit C j na tha k f a a progress This I II |
