An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
A Proclamation
General Thanksgiving
By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to eftablifh a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him 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 signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;– for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;– for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;– and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
AND also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;– to enable us all, whether in publick 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 wife, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.
George Washington
Source: The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday, October 14, 1789
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Notice he says:
”I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States”
… and doesnt say “the last thursday of the month.”
and whats with all the “f”s?
Thankfgiving? You cant say those just how they did S, because there are plenty of normal S’s in there.
Some other spellings are interesting too, like “publick.”
Also lets take note of how many times God is mentioned in this, shall we?
This has my brain churning this morning….. Thanksgiving was a day dedicated to us giving thanks to God for what we have, and liberals somewhere along the way turned this into “pilgrims and turkey day.”
Kinda pisses me off.
But happy Thanksgiving anyway, OB.
Yep, the manner of speech was a mite different back then. The ‘f’ was actually a fancy way of s with a line through it. Makes for some confusing reading, that’s for sure.
Our history is full of giving just dues to our Creator, but for reasons that defy common sense, the left has decided they are in control. Pfft! They can’t even control themselves, what makes ‘em think they control anything else?
And a grand Happy T-day back atcha! A good day to hit the knees and be grateful for what we have, great and small.
[...] McIlheran, Paddy O’Furniture, Bruce, Jim Hoft, John Adams of Whitewater, Don, and Kate highlighted George Washington’s 1789 proclamation, which was the first by an American [...]
ThankS for posting this. My daughter and I are having dinner alone (a feast for one-and-a-half) tonight and I was getting kinda fappy, this picked me up!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
You’re quite welcome. Just remember…we are to be grateful for what we do have, not what we wish we had.
Having your little one with you is a blessing. You could be covered by cats right now….like I am. sigh….