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Jon N
Jon N
7 years ago

As usual, found the Thanksgiving show really interesting. However one thing that is left out of the history of the holiday is the involvement of a woman called Sarah Josepha Hale (who also wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb”).

In 1846, she started a campaign to petition the Government to make Thanksgiving a national holiday (she had also been advocating for this in essays from 1827 onward).

For 17 years, she wrote letters to EVERY Governor in the US as well as whoever was President at the time. In 17 years, she wrote to Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and finally Abraham Lincoln, who she finally convinced to adopt her idea.

Just thought you might find this interesting given your fondness for history. 🙂

Brian Duff
7 years ago

Great episode!