A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Praise

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches later this month, we’re displaying an edition of the Old Colony Memorial and Plymouth County Advertiser in our Collection Spotlight case. Printed on October 26, 1822, this newspaper includes a proclamation for an upcoming Day of Thanksgiving that was issued by Governor John Brooks on October 18, 1822. The proclamation establishes Thursday, December 5 as a day of “Public Thanksgiving and Praise” throughout the Commonwealth.

The proclamation is printed on the far-left column of text

Our broadside collection includes a number of proclamations issued by Massachusetts Governors dating from 1779 to 1902, as well as a few more recent proclamations issued by Governor Baker. Broadsides are large single sheet publications, with writing printed only on the front. They were ephemeral in nature, with the purpose of spreading news or advertisements, and were commonly found in use through the 1800s. Thanksgiving Day proclamations would have been printed as broadsides and then sent to town government or religious officials to share with their constituents and parishioners. We’ve previously written about and displayed the 1783 Thanksgiving Day proclamation issued by John Hancock, but we’ve not previously shared a Thanksgiving Day proclamation that was printed in the newspaper. The publishing of the proclamation in local newspapers would have helped to ensure that word of the Day of Thanksgiving would spread throughout the Commonwealth. The version we’ve displayed is from the Old Colony Memorial, a newspaper which began publication the same year as this proclamation, in 1822, and continues today. And it is timely for the season that the newspaper we are sharing is one that was published in Plymouth County.

As stated in the proclamation, this state-issued Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer establishes that, “The people of every religious denomination are requested to assemble in their respective places of public worship on that day, unitedly to express to Almighty God a deep and grateful sense of the manifold favors and blessings, which He has been graciously pleased to vouchsafe to us.” Those who celebrate Thanksgiving today tend to focus on gathering and giving thanks over a large meal, while the purpose of Days of Thanksgiving and Prayer described in 19th-century proclamations like this one focused on parishioners joining together in religious services. Though there are differences in how we celebrate Thanksgiving today verses what is described here (notably, the proclamation ends with the line, "the people are requested to abstain from all labor and recreation incompatible with the religious services of the day" so those of you planning Thanksgiving football games would have been out of luck), the sentiment of expressing gratitude is the same today is it was in 1822, whether it happens in a religious sanctuary, your dining room, or elsewhere. 

The Old Colony Memorial version of the Thanksgiving Day proclamation will be on display in our reading room through December 3, so be sure to visit us to take a look. The proclamation comprises just a few columns of the displayed newspaper pages, so you’ll also get to see other news and advertisements from 1822. Our Special Collections holdings also includes the 1822 broadside version of this proclamation, which can be found here. On your computer or mobile device, it would be easier to read the full text of the proclamation in the broadside version rather than the newspaper version. And while you're there, you can explore the full collection of proclamations in our digital repository. If you'd like to see just the Thanksgiving proclamations, use the search feature (indicated with a magnifying glass) and type in “Thanksgiving” and “Proclamations.”

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Celebrate with a Grateful Heart

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up this Thursday, we thought it was a good time to share some of the Thanksgiving Day proclamations that are in our collection! 

In November 2019 we displayed our Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer that was issued by Governor John Hancock on November 8, 1783. Printed as a broadside and distributed throughout the Commonwealth to notify citizens of the upcoming observance, this document established Thursday, December 11 as a day for all Massachusetts residents to devote themselves to prayer and giving thanks. It also was issued to commemorate the official ending of the Revolutionary War. Though this 18th-century day of Thanksgiving is different from the holiday that we celebrate today, the proclamation urges citizens to “assemble to celebrate with grateful hearts and united voices,” a sentiment that continues today, much as it did well over two hundred years ago. Read more about this historic proclamation in our previous blog post.

This 1783 proclamation is just one of many in our Special Collections holdings. You can see images of our oldest proclamation from 1779 and a 1796 proclamation issued by Governor Samuel Adams in another past blog post. Our collection includes 112 Thanksgiving Day proclamations that have been digitized and uploaded to our online repository. They date from 1779 to 1903 with continuity, and then there are a few more recent ones issued by Governor Baker. If Governor Healey issues a proclamation, it will also be added to our collection! Explore the full collection of proclamations here, using keyword "Thanksgiving."

A reminder that the library will be closed this upcoming Thursday and to those who celebrate, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

This November, the State Library is exhibiting a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, issued by Governor John Hancock on November 8, 1783. Printed as broadside and distributed throughout the Commonwealth to notify citizens of the upcoming observance, this document established Thursday, December 11 as a day for all Massachusetts residents to devote themselves to prayer and giving thanks.

The day of thanksgiving established by John Hancock and his council in 1783 is different from the Thanksgiving holiday that we know of today. During his presidency, George Washington issued a proclamation for a national day of thanksgiving in 1789, as did subsequent presidents like John Adams and James Madison. But Thanksgiving was not established as a federal holiday until Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in 1863, and it was not until 1941 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date as the last Thursday in November. Prior to Washington’s proclamation in 1789, church leaders or governors of individual colonies (and then states) would periodically declare days of thanksgiving and prayer for a variety of reasons. Most frequently, these days celebrated a bountiful harvest and were very religious in nature, which is reflected in the proclamation’s wording of giving thanks to the “Almighty Being” and “Bountiful Benefactor.” During the Revolutionary War, proclamations also drew a strong connection between religion and military affairs, as days of thanksgiving were often established to give praise to God after the colonists achieved a victory against the British.

When Gov. John Hancock issued the Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving in November 1783, he was following a recommendation made by the Congress of the Confederation (the precursor to the United States Congress) that all thirteen states observe an especially significant event. That year marked the official end of the Revolutionary War, when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3 and Great Britain acknowledged the United States as free, sovereign, and independent states. Following the conclusion of a war that began eight years prior, Congress requested that all states establish Thursday, December 11 as a day of thanksgiving and prayer. The language of the proclamation was set by Congress, though it appears as though various states edited their own versions slightly. The Massachusetts proclamation reads that citizens should give thanks “that he [creator] hath been pleased to conduct us in safety through all the perils and vicissitudes of the war; that he hath given us unanimity and resolution to adhere to our just rights; that he hath raised up a powerful ally to assist us in supporting them, and hath so far crowned our united efforts with success, that in the course of the present year hostilities have ceased, and we are left in the undisputed possession of our liberties and independence.”

Though our current Thanksgiving holiday is not the same as colonial days of thanksgiving and prayer, it does have its roots there. Today, we may not be celebrating the specific events that colonial citizens did, but we do share their observance of giving thanks for a bountiful year, successful events, and general well-being. This proclamation urged citizens to “assemble to celebrate with grateful hearts and united voices,” a sentiment that continues today, much as it did well over two hundred years ago.

Through December 1, be sure to visit the State Library to see this proclamation in person. Click here to view it in our digital repository and explore other Thanksgiving proclamations issued by various governors here.

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian