When we think of Thanksgiving Day, we usually think of the Pilgrims, Indians and a great deal of food. There has always been a controversy with Thanksgiving as to whether Virginia celebrated the concept first or the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, but when the first celebration took place is secondary to the continuation and the acceptance of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Most of us take the holiday for granted and assume it has always celebrated nationwide since Thanksgiving was first noted, but that is untrue.

In 1777 the thirteen colonies celebrated a day of thanksgiving commemorating the victory over the British at Saratoga, but it was only celebrated as a one time occasion. It was not until 1789 that George Washington issued a proclamation declaring Thanksgiving day as a national holiday, but dissention between the colonies prevented it from becoming a reality. Different communities celebrated Thanksgiving at different times and for different reasons, so it was difficult even to have it declared a statewide holiday, much less have all the states agree to Thanksgiving as national holiday. Many Americans did not think that the hardships the colonists suffered were deserving of national stauts. Even Thomas Jefferson condemned national recognition in both of his terms of office.

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor or Godey's Ladies' Book, should be given credit for the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. As early as 1827 she began a one-woman crusade to have Thanksgiving celebrated nationwide as a holiday. In her book, Northwood, she wrote, "We have too few holidays. Thanksgiving like the Fourth of July should be considered a national festival and observed by all our people...as a exponent of our Republican institutions." Using the magazines that she edited, Ladies' Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book, as platforms for her crusade, she continued to campaign for Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In 1835, she wrote, "There is a deep moral influence in these periodical seasons of rejoicing, in which whole communities participate. They bring out, and together, as it were, the best sympathies in our natures." She viewed the nationwide celebration as a logical bond of the Union.

In 1846 Sarah began in earnest to petition the governors of the states and territories to establish a common day in which to celebrate Thanksgiving. She advocated, like Washington, that the last Thursday of November should be set aside for the day. Every year, beginning in June or July, she would announce in her editorials in Godey's, her progress in achieving her goal. She literally wrote thousands of letters in her quest, but only a few of those letters or replies have survived. In 1852, she announced that twenty-nine states (all except Virginia and Vermont) and all the territories were to celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day.

In 1859, she believed that the national celebration of Thanksgiving would bring the Union together and avert war. In her September, 1859 editorial, Sarah stated, "If every state would join in Union Thanksgiving on the 24th of this month, would it not be a renewed pledge of love and loyalty of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees peace, prosperity, progress and perpetuity to our great Republic?" In that year, thirty states and three territories celebrated Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November, but it was not enough to stem the tide of war. Sarah did not stop there, but still wanted it declared a national holiday in order to assure the celebration every year.

Sarah begged in her November, 1861 editorial for a Thanksgiving Day of Peace, pleading that "we lay aside our enmities and strifes...on this one day." War did not stop her quest for a national holiday.

In 1863 her quest met with success. Sarah had visited Lincoln, pleading her cause. The Union had just won the battle of Gettysburg. Her editorial in the September, 1863 issue of Godey's contained a fervent and patriotic plea, "to offer God our tribute of joy and gratitude for the blessings of the year." She also suggested that the proclamation should be issued by the President of the United States and then be applied by the governors of each state. Together with the Gettysburg victory and her editorial, Lincoln was prompted to issue a proclamation on October 3, 1863 setting aside the last Thursday in November as day of national Thanksgiving.