![\"daguerreotype](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/960px-Abraham_Lincoln_by_Von_Schneidau_1854.jpg\" "\\"daguerreotype")
<\/a><\/p>\nSteven Beschloss: Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation<\/a><\/h2>\nOn October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued<\/em> a proclamation. He soberly acknowledged that he was doing so \u201cin the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity.\u201d And he reflected on \u201cthe lamentable civil strife in which we are engaged\u201d leading to the many \u201cwho have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers.\u201d<\/p>\nBut despite his honest depiction of our nation\u2019s tragedy, America\u2019s 16th president was also able to see beyond it. He described \u201cthe blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies\u201d and asked Americans to look ahead and \u201cexpect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.\u201d (He had signed the final Emancipation Proclamation nine months earlier.)<\/p>\n
On that October day, Lincoln proclaimed<\/a> that Americans should \u201cset apart and observe the last Thursday of November\u2026as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.\u201d In what reads like a prayer, he concluded with his hope for \u201cthe Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it\u2026to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n(Steven Beschloss more…)<\/a><\/p>\nUSA Today: Some SNAP recipients still waiting on payments ahead of Thanksgiving<\/a><\/h2>\nHeather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – November 26, 2025<\/a><\/h2>\n…
\nIn 1861, Americans went to war to keep a cabal from taking control of the government and turning it into an oligarchy. The fight against that rebellion seemed at first to be too much for the nation to survive. But Americans rallied and threw their hearts into the cause on the battlefields even as they continued to work on the home front for a government that defended democracy and equality before the law.<\/p>\n
And in 1865, at least, they won.
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But despite his honest depiction of our nation\u2019s tragedy, America\u2019s 16th president was also able to see beyond it. He described \u201cthe blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies\u201d and asked Americans to look ahead and \u201cexpect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.\u201d (He had signed the final Emancipation Proclamation nine months earlier.)<\/p>\n
On that October day, Lincoln proclaimed<\/a> that Americans should \u201cset apart and observe the last Thursday of November\u2026as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.\u201d In what reads like a prayer, he concluded with his hope for \u201cthe Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it\u2026to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.\u201d<\/p>\n … And in 1865, at least, they won.
\n(Steven Beschloss more…)<\/a><\/p>\nUSA Today: Some SNAP recipients still waiting on payments ahead of Thanksgiving<\/a><\/h2>\n
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – November 26, 2025<\/a><\/h2>\n
\nIn 1861, Americans went to war to keep a cabal from taking control of the government and turning it into an oligarchy. The fight against that rebellion seemed at first to be too much for the nation to survive. But Americans rallied and threw their hearts into the cause on the battlefields even as they continued to work on the home front for a government that defended democracy and equality before the law.<\/p>\n
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