Happy Thanksgiving!

By Representative Paul Gosar (AZ-09) – November 24, 2024

Today, we take for granted our Thanksgiving holiday.

But we would not have this holiday without the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale.  Hale used her persuasive writings to support the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Beginning in 1846 she charged the president and other leading politicians to push for the national celebration of Thanksgiving.

Her requests for recognition were largely ignored by politicians until 1863, when in the middle of the Civil War, President Lincoln signed into action “A National Day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” Hale’s letter to Lincoln is often cited as the main factor in his decision.

While Lincoln set the holiday as the last Thursday in November, President Roosevelt moved it a week earlier with the hope it would result in a longer shopping season.  President Roosevelt faced opposition so in 1941 he moved it back to the original date set by Lincoln.

As for eating turkey, obviously turkey was readily available to early Americans.  However, Benjamin Franklin thought the bird was not just for eating. He thought the turkey should be the national bird, rather than the bald eagle.  “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; his is a bird of bad moral character,” he once wrote.  Franklin noted that the turkey was a “much more respectable bird.”

Whether you like turkey for Thanksgiving, we can all agree that we are so blessed to live in an amazing country that protects our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. As you gather with friends and family this holiday season, Maude and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!