Topics: Holidays

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1792, Massachusetts

This proclamation was issued by Massachusetts Governor, John Hancock on October 25, 1792. It was proclaiming a day of Thanksgiving and Praise for November 29, 1792 as printed in the Columbian Centinel.

Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS.
By His Excellency
John Hancock, Esq.
GOVERNOR of the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS.

A PROCLAMATION for a Day of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING.
proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1792-massachusetts-1WHEREAS it is the indispensable duty of all Men to acknowledge Almighty GOD as the fountain of mercies, and the giver of every good gift; and it becomes us at the close of the year, to unite in rendering thanks to Him for the bounties of his Providence conferred upon us as a people.

I HAVE therefore thought fit, by the advice and consent of the Council, to appoint THURSDAY, the Twenty-Ninth day of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE throughout this Commonwealth:—Calling upon Ministers and people of every religious denomination, to assemble on the same day, and solemnly commemorate the many undeserved mercies and favors, which it hath pleased our divine and gracious benefactor to bestow upon us;—Particularly that He hath favored us with so great a measure of health; and notwithstanding in His righteous providence, He hath permitted an infectious and malignant distemper to prevail in the capital, and other towns, yet in judgment He hath remembered mercy for us, beyond what our sins have deserved; the lives of by far the greater number of those who have been visited with the distemper, having been spared and their health restored:—That He hath caused the earth to yield its increase, sufficient for the supply of the necessaries and conveniences of life: To prosper our merchandise and fishery; and to continue to us our invaluable civil and religious rights and liberties.
proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1792-massachusetts-2And, together with our sincere and pious acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, the penitent confession of our sins; amendment of our hearts and lives, and humble supplication to GOD, for His further aid, protection and blessing:—That He would especially be pleased to endue the administrators of the federal constitution, and of this, and the other States in the Union, with sound wisdom and understanding; the fear of GOD, and love of their country, and a single aim to preserve and promote the liberty, prosperity and happiness of the people: And that He would grant to all, a spirit of truth, and discernment; a due regard to every wise administration, and to the importance of internal peace and Union:—To afford His further smiles on our agriculture, fisheries, commerce, and all the labor of our hands;—To guide and direct the University, and all schools and seminaries of learning, so that our children and youth, by a wholesome education, may be deeply impressed with the principles of true religion, and solid virtue.—That He would be pleased to afford His almighty aid to all people, and more especially the French Nation, who are virtuously struggling for their just and equal rights. And finally, that He would be pleased to overrule the commotions and confusions that are in the earth, to the speedy downfall of tyranny and oppression, so that the kingdom of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST may be established in Peace and Righteousness, among all the Nations of the Earth.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good people of this commonwealth, to abstain from all servile labor and recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said Day.

GIVEN at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the Twenty-Fifth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety-Two, and in the seventeenth Year of the Independence of the United States of AMERICA.

JOHN HANCOCK.

By His Excellency’s Command,
JOHN AVERY, jun. Secretary.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1863

This is the text of the October 3, 1863 Abraham Lincoln national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.

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President Abraham Lincoln’s
Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Issued, October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

The needful diversions of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship. The axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people; I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him that, for such singular deliverances and blessings; they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

Abraham Lincoln

By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1791, New Jersey

This is the text of the November 21, 1791 William Paterson Thanksgiving Day proclamation, as he served as governor of New Jersey; as printed in the Gazette of the United States, November 26, 1791.

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By His Excellency

William Paterson, Esquire,

Governor, Captain-General, and Commander in Chief in and over the State of New-Jersey, and territories thereunto belonging, Chanceler, and Ordinary in the same.

Proclamation.

proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1791-new-jersey-2Whereas it is, at all times, our duty to approach the throne of Almighty God with gratitude and praise, but more especially in seasons of national peace, plenty, and prosperity; I have, therefore, thought fit, by and with the advice and consent of the Honorable the Privy Council, to assign Thursday the eighth day of December next, to be set apart and observed as a day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer for the great and manifold mercies conferred upon this land and people; and particularly for the abundant produce of the earth, during the present year, for the spirit of industry, sobriety, and economy which prevails: for the stability and extension of our national credit and commerce, for the progress of literature, arts and science, and for the good order, peace and plenty, and the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed. And also that we may unite in our supplications, and humbly implore the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, that he would be pleased to continue his protection and goodness to this land and people, to smile upon all schools and seminaries of learning; to promote agriculture, manufactures and commerce, to illuminate and guide our public councils, to bless our national and state governments, to enable us all to discharge our official, social and relative duties with diligence and fidelity, to eradicate prejudice, bigotry and superstition; to advance the interest of religion, and the knowledge and practice of virtue; and for this purpose to pour out his holy spirit on all ministers of the gospel, and to spread the saving light thereof to the most distant parts of the earth.

Given under my hand and seal at arms, at Trenton, the twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.

William Patterson.

By his Excellency’s command.

Bowes Reed, Sec’ry.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1822, New Hampshire

October 28, 1822

State of New Hampshire.

By the Governor,

A Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving.

Gratitude to God, whose power upholds, and whose bounty surrounds us with innumerable sources of enjoyment and of happiness, is our obvious duty as intelligent and dependent beings.

That opportunity may be afforded us publicly and united to cultivate dispositions of heart correspondent to our obligations to the Divine Goodness; to render to our Supreme Benefactor an affectionate tribute of thanks and praise; to acknowledge our past ingratitude, humbly implore the pardon of our sins and the continuance of His parental kindness; it has been thought fit to appoint, and with the advice of the Council, I do hereby appoint, Thursday the twenty-eighth day of November next, to be observed as a day of prayer and thanksgiving throughout this State.

I recommend to the ministers and people of every religious persuasion to assemble on that day in their respective places of public worship and unite in devout and humble acknowledgments to Almighty God for the many favors, personal, civil, and religious, which we enjoy from His Goodness; That the past year has been peculiarly distinguished by His Mercy and Beneficence; That health has diffused its blessing generally throughout the State; That the earth has repaid the labors of husbandry with an abundant increase; That all the pursuits of our industry have been favored with success; and that Providence has bountifully bestowed and continued to us all that variety of good, which is adapted to sustain and extend our individual and social happiness; That a free and enlightened Government continues to afford the most perfect security to our civil and religious rights; and that with the enjoyment of liberty we possess the means of knowledge and the inestimable instructions of divine Revelation, which clearly communicate our duty to God and man, and disclose to us the path to temporal felicity and future happiness.

Whilst we render thanks to our Heavenly Father for his mercies, let us penitently confess our sins, seek his compassion and forgiveness, and humbly pray, that He would direct us in the performance of our duties; That He would guide all men to the knowledge of the truth, and cause the religion of the Gospel to be every where known and obeyed; That its benign and holy doctrines may so influence the hearts of men as to restrain every vicious inclination, and unfold and strengthen every virtuous and pious affection; That ignorance and vice, tyranny and superstition may ever where give place to knowledge and virtue, to liberty and pure religion; That he would prosper our seminaries of learning, and all our means of education; give success to our laudable pursuits, and continue to us the enjoyment of health and prosperity; That He would beneficently regard the Government of our State and Nation, and direct them to such measures, as may preserve the purity of our institutions, and continue to our remotest posterity the blessings which flow from liberty connected with knowledge, virtue and piety.

The people of this State are requested to abstain from all unnecessary labor, and from recreation unbecoming the occasion.

Given at the Council Chamber at Concord, this twenty-eighth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the forty-seventh.

Samuel Bell.
By His Excellency’s Command, with Advice of Council.

[signed] Richard Bartlett
Deputy Secretary

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1791, Massachusetts

The following is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, issued by John Hancock (Signer of the Declaration of Independence), while he was serving as governor of Massachusetts. The proclamation was issued October 5, 1791 and was declaring November 17, 1791 the day of Thanksgiving.

 

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

By His EXCELLENCY
John Hancock, Esq.
GOVERNOR of the COMMONWEALTH
of Massachusetts.
A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of Public Thanksgiving.
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In consideration of the many undeserved Blessings conferred upon us by GOD, the Father of all Mercies; it becomes us no only in our private and usual devotion, to express our obligations to Him, as well as our dependence upon Him; but also specially to set a part a Day to be employed for this great and important Purpose:

I HAVE therefore thought fit to appoint, and by the advice and consent of the Council, do hereby accordingly appoint, THURSDAY, the seventeenth of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public THANKSGIVING and PRAISE, throughout this Commonwealth:—Hereby calling upon Ministers and People of every denomination, to assemble on the said Day—and in the name of the Great Mediator, devoutly and sincerely offer to Almighty God, the gratitude of our Hearts, for all his goodness towards us; more especially in that HE has been pleased to continue to us so a great a measure of Health—to cause the Earth plentifully to yield her increase, so that we are supplied with the Necessaries, and the Comforts of Life—to prosper our Merchandise and Fishery—And above all, not only to continue to us the enjoyment of our civil Rights and Liberties; but the great and most important Blessing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ: And together with our cordial acknowledgments, I do earnestly recommend, that we may join the penitent confession of our Sins, and implore the further continuance of the Divine Protection, and Blessings of Heaven upon this People; especially that He would be graciously pleased to direct, and prosper the Administration of the Federal Government, and of this, and the other States in the Union—to afford Him further Smiles on our Agriculture and Fisheries, Commerce and Manufactures—To prosper our University and all Seminaries of Learning—To bless the virtuously struggling for the Rights of Men—so that universal Happiness may be Allies of the United States, and to afford his Almighty Aid to all People, who are established in the World; that all may bow to the Scepter of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the whole Earth be filled with his Glory.

And I do also earnestly recommend to the good People of this Commonwealth, to abstain from all servile Labor and Recreation, inconsistent with the solemnity of the said day.

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Given at the Council-Chamber, in Boston, the fifth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-One, and in the sixteenth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

 

JOHN HANCOCK.

By his Excellency’s Command,

JOHN AVERY, jun. Sec’y

GOD save the Commonwealth of MASSACHUSETTS!!

 

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1813, Massachusetts

This is the written text of a proclamation for a day of public thanksgiving and prayer given by Caleb Strong (Delegate to the Constitutional Convention), Governor of Massachusetts. The proclamation was issued on October 8, 1813 and was declaring November 25, 1813 a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer.

 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
By His Excellency,
CALEB STRONG,
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
A PROCLAMATION,
For a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer
 

THE revolving year has again brought us to the season, in which we have been accustomed to unite, in offering our public tribute of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Supreme Being, for the gifts of Providence conferred upon us. And though, in His just displeasure, He permits our country to be still involved in the calamities of war, yet He has not left Himself without witness, in doing us good, and giving us rain from Heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. It is our duty, then, renewably to present our public and grateful acknowledgments to Him, from whose bounty all our blessing are derived; to implore that He would support us under the adversities we meet with, by His Almighty Power, and guide us in the way we should go, by His unerring wisdom.

I do, therefore, with the advice and consent of the Council, appoint THURSDAY, the Twenty-Fifth Day of November next, to be observed by the People of this State as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. And the Ministers and People of each religious denomination are requested to meet together on that day, that we may unite in paying our humble adoration and praise to the Great Parent of the World, for the display of His goodness in the works of Creation and the ways of Providence, for the protection afforded to the People of this State, from its first settlement, for the numerous favors which He has vouchsafed to them, in the course of the last year, for His blessing on the labors of the husbandman, and the provision that it made for the supply of our wants, for the measure of health which the people have enjoyed in the course of the year; and that they have been exempt in so great a degree from the terrors and devastations of War, For the delights of friendly intercourse, and the preservation of so many of those with whom we have been intimately connected by the ties of friendship or relation, For His kindness to us, as individuals, and the support He has afforded us, from our infancy, in the various stages through which we have been passed, For the numerous deliverances from dangers and distress, which He has wrought for us; and all the temporal blessings conferred upon us, which are more than can be numbered, and especially for the Gospel of Christ, which is designed to purify and exalt our nature, which inspires and inculcates the love and practice of righteousness, and opens to our view the prospect of a glorious immortality.

And while we thank the Author of our mercies for all the benefits we have received, let us confide in Him for all that we want; and entreat Him, that He would still be merciful to the people of this state, and cause His anger towards us to cease, that by His former kindness to our forefathers and to us, we may be encouraged to trust in His mercy, and honor Him by our sincere and faithful obedience; and that a deep conviction of His constant and universal agency may afford us consolation amid the fearful and perplexing changes which are taking place in the world. That we may be grateful in prosperity, and resigned in adversity, and acknowledge the wisdom and goodness of God in whatever He bestows, withholds or inflicts, that He would save us from the power of the sword, and from the ravages and alarms of war, and give us quietness and safety in our borders; and that the People may be at peace among themselves, and, if it be possible, live peaceably with all men.

That He would preserve the Union of these States, and that our rulers may be governed by a spirit of wisdom, moderation and justice, and be guided by the mild influences of that religion which breathes only benevolence and peace, that He would guard us against us any fatal injury from foreign connections or partialities, that the War in which we are involved may be speedily terminated, and the hearts of all who are engaged in it be disposed to peace and justice, and that He would give us true repentance for all our sins, and especially for those which have occasioned the calamities we suffer; and convince us of our errors by the mischiefs they bring upon us, so that neither interest, prejudice nor passion may hinder us from discerning the truth.

That He would put an end to the sanguinary war which has overspread the whole Christian world, and that every contending nation may impartially inquire upon whom the stain of blood guiltiness lies, that He would change the hearts of oppressors by His grace, or restrain their malignity by His power; and reclaim from the error of their ways all those who are engaged in unrighteous war, that He would be gracious to those countries which are made desolate by the sword of an invading enemy, and cause the influence of Gospel of Peace to be extended to every nation, that He would enlarge the borders of the Redeemer’s Kingdom. That exalted honors may everywhere be paid Him, and all the ends of the earth look unto Him and be saved.

And the people are requested to abstain from such labor and recreation as shall be inconsistent with the religious services above recommended.

Given at the Council Chamber, in Boston, this Eighth Day of October, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirteen, and in the Thirty-Eighth Year of the Independence of the United States of America.

 

CALEB STRONG.

By His Excellency the Governor,
With the advice and consent of the Council

ALDEN BRADFORD, Secretary of the Commonwealth
God Save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!

 

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1989

This is the text of a Proclamation for a National Day of Thanksgiving. The proclamation was issued on November 17, 1989, declaring November 23, 1989 as a day of thanksgiving to be observed by the nation.

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Thanksgiving Day, 1989

By the President of the United States

A Proclamation

On Thanksgiving Day, we Americans pause as a Nation to give thanks for the freedom and prosperity with which we have been blessed by our Creator. Like the pilgrims who first settled in this land, we offer praise to God for His goodness and generosity and rededicate ourselves to lives of service and virtue in His sight.

This annual observance of Thanksgiving was a cherished American tradition even before our first President, George Washington, issued the first Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. In his first Inaugural Address, President Washington observed that “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.” He noted that the American people – blessed with victory in their fight for Independence and with an abundance of crops in their fields – owed God “some return of pious gratitude.” Later, in a confidential note to his close advisor, James Madison, he asked “should the sense of the Senate be taken on … a day of Thanksgiving?” George Washington thus led the way to a Joint Resolution of Congress requesting the President to set aside “a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal Favors of Almighty God.”

Through the eloquent words of President Washington’s initial Thanksgiving proclamation – the first under the Constitution – we are reminded of our dependence upon our Heavenly Father and of the debt of gratitude we owe to Him. “It is the Duty of all Nations,” wrote Washington, “to acknowledge the Providence of almighty God, to obey his Will, to be grateful for his Benefits, and humbly to implore His Protection and Favor.”

President Washington asked that on Thanksgiving Day the people of the United States:

unite in rendering unto [God] our sincere and humble Thanks for his kind Care and Protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation; for … the great degree of Tranquility, Union and Plenty which we have since enjoyed; for … the civil and religious Liberty with which we are blessed, and … for all the great and various Favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

Two hundred years later, we continue to offer thanks to the Almighty – not only for the material prosperity that our Nation enjoys, but also for the blessings of peace and freedom. Our Nation has no greater treasures than these.

As we pause to acknowledge the kindnesses God has shown to us – and, indeed, His gift of life itself – we do so in a spirit of humility as well as gratitude. When the United States was still a fledgling democracy, President Washington asked the American people to unite in prayer to the “great Lord and ruler of Nations,” in order to:

beseech him to pardon our national and other Transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private Stations, to perform our several and relative Duties properly and punctually; to render our national Government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a Government of wise, just and constitutional Laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations … and to bless them with good Government, peace and Concord.

Today, we, too, pause on Thanksgiving with humble and contrite hearts, mindful of God’s mercy and forgiveness and of our continued need for His protection and guidance. On this day, we also remember that one gives praise to God not only through prayers of thanksgiving, but also through obedience to His commandments and service to others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

While some Presidents followed Washington’s precedent, and some State Governors did as well, President Lincoln – despite being faced with the dark specter of civil war – renewed the practice of proclaiming a national day of Thanksgiving. This venerable tradition has been sustained by every President since then, in times of strife as well as times of peace and prosperity.

Today, we continue to offer thanks and praise to our Creator, that “Great Author of every public and private good,” for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us. In so doing, we recall the timeless words of the 100th Psalm:

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 23, 1989, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon the American people to gather together in homes and places of worship on that day of thanks to affirm by their prayers and their gratitude the many blessings God has bestowed upon us and our Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.

GEORGE BUSH

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1909

 

This is the text of a Thanksgiving Day proclamation issued by President William Howard Taft on November 15, 1909.

[Thanksgiving- 1909.]

By the
President of the United States of America.

A
Proclamation.

proclamation-thanksgiving-day-1909-1The season of the year has returned when, in accordance with the reverent custom established by our forefathers, the people of the United States are wont [accustomed] to meet in their usual places of worship on a day of thanksgiving appointed by the Civil Magistrate to return thanks to God for the great mercies and benefits which they have enjoyed.

During this past year we have been highly blest. No great calamities of flood or tempest or epidemic sickness have befallen us. We have lived in quietness, undisturbed by wars or the rumors of wars. Peace and the plenty of bounteous crops and of great industrial production animate a cheerful and resolute people to all the renewed energies of beneficent industry and material and moral progress. It is altogether fitting that we should humbly and gratefully acknowledge the divine source of these blessings.

Therefore I appoint Thursday, the twenty-fifth day of November, as a day of general thanksgiving, and I call upon the people on that day, laying aside their usual vocations, to repair to their churches and unite in appropriate services of praise and thanks to Almighty God.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and thirty-fourth.

Wm H Taft

By the President:

P.C. Knox

Secretary of State.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1899, New Hampshire

The following is the text of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, issued by Frank West Rollins, the governor of New Hampshire. The proclamation was issued October 27, 1899 and was declaring November 30, 1899 the day of Thanksgiving.

 

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State of New Hampshire.
 

By His Excellency Frank West Rollins, Governor,
A Proclamation
For a day of public Thanksgiving and Praise.

I hereby appoint Thursday, the thirtieth day of November, as a day of joyful thanksgiving to Almighty God, our Heavenly Father.

Let a special effort be made call home our dear ones for the observance of the beautiful custom, and let family reunions be held around our hearthstones. Let the morning of this glad day be devoted to services of praise and thanksgiving for the bounteousness of the harvests and our general prosperity—and the after to deeds of brotherly kindness and loving charity, visiting the sick and needy, sending flowers and delicacies to the hospitals, and bringing the joyousness of the day to the inmates of our charitable and reformatory institutions. “Give back the upward looking and the light” to some sorrowing soul; “rebuild in it the music and the dream,” even if it be but for a day. Let the evening be devoted to the children, who always seem so much nearer to God than the older ones. Make merry in the good old ways. Roll back the burden of the years.
A day thus spent will not only be a loving service to God, but a blessing to others and a benediction to ourselves.

Given at the Council Chamber in Concord, this twenty-seventh day
of October, in the year of Lord one thousand eight hundred
and ninety nine, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the one hundred and twenty-fourth.

Frank West Rollins,
Governor.

By His Excellency the Governor,
with advice of the Council,
Edward N. Pearson,
Secretary of State.

Proclamation – Thanksgiving Day – 1887

The following is the text of the handwritten Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer issued by Grover Cleveland, President of the United States. The proclamation was issued October 25, 1887 and was declaring November 24, 1887 the day of Thanksgiving.


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A Proclamation
By the President of the United States:

The goodness and the mercy of God, which have followed the American people during all the days of the past year claim our grateful recognition and humble acknowledgment. By His omnipotent power He has protected us from war and pestilence and from every national calamity; by His gracious favor the earth has yielded a generous return to the labor of the husbandman, and every path of honest toil has led to comfort and contentment; by His loving kindness the hearts of our people have been replenished with fraternal sentiment and patriotic endeavor, and by His Fatherly guidance we have been directed in the way of national prosperity.

To the end that we may with one accord testify our gratitude for all these blessings, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, do hereby designate and set apart Thursday, the twenty-fourth day of November next as a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by all the people of the land.

On the day let all secular work and employment be suspended; and let our people assemble in their accustomed places of worship and with prayer and songs of praise, give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all that He has done for us while we implore the forgiveness of our sins and a continuance of His mercy.

Let families and kindred be reunited on that day and let their hearts, filled with kindly cheer and affectionate reminiscence, be turned to the source of all their pleasures and to the Giver of all that makes the day bright and joyous.

And in the midst of our worship and enjoyments let us remember the poor, the needy, and the unfortunate; and by our gifts of charity and ready benevolence let us increase the number of those who with grateful hearts shall join in our Thanksgiving.

In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twelfth.