Of all U.S. holidays, Thanksgiving is subject to a lot of revision, not just historical,

but cultural, probably because it was born out of a bit of wishful thinking and patriotism

by a woman named Sarah Hale. She was like an OG influencer. In the 1830s, she ran a ladies

magazine, literally called Ladies Magazine,

and it focused on manners and so-called moral fiction. And for decades, she wrote about her

idea for a Thanksgiving holiday. One, she wrote, could quote, release us from the estrangement

and coolness brought on by distance and political alienations.

She wrote books and essays.

She lobbied governors and presidents, always asking about Thanksgiving,

which she based on the New England harvest-era dinner she grew up with.

But the U.S., she thought, was a young nation that needed more holidays.

And this one in her mind could be a partner of sorts to July 4th.

Her campaign lasted 36 years.

She wrote to governors.

She wrote to every president in that time with her request.

And it's probably not an accident that of all the president she wrote,

it was Abraham Lincoln who took her up on the idea for a proclamation.

It was in the middle of the Civil War that he deemed a day of Thanksgiving and praise

and perhaps asked the Almighty to heal the wounds of a nation.

It was a time when people were wrestling over what it even meant to be American,

about whether or not there would be one America.

And honestly, it helps to think about this in the context of the politics of patriotism today.

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