What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving.
This day's roots are intertwined with those of our Nation, and its history traces the American narrative. Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God," and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war.
We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.
As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.
As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country's men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all.
Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.
— President Barack Obama's 2009 Thanksgiving proclamation
Our 44th president this week continued a tradition begun by the first, declaring that a day be set aside to offer thanks for the blessings we enjoy as citizens of the United States.
After giving Americans a chance to enjoy the holiday, Obama next Tuesday will set a course for our military in Afghanistan. It's expected his strategy will put thousands more of our military men and women in harm's way as we continue the effort to bring some semblance of peace and stability to that troubled part of the world.
It won't be an easy decision, but then serving as commander in chief has never been a task for the faint of heart. Obama has his hands full with war still raging abroad and a domestic economic situation that's been described as the worst since the Great Depression.
But Americans are a resilient breed and will get through these crises as they have others, including the civil war that divided the nation in the middle of the 19th century.
Even in the midst of that war, Lincoln urged his fellow citizens to celebrate a year that "has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies." Thanks to God, he noted, "peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict."
Washington was similarly optimistic in his Thanksgiving messages despite having endured a bloody war of revolution against the British and taken the reins of a fledgling nation whose future was by no means certain. He thanked God for "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."
Peace and prosperity are never guaranteed. But since the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth almost four centuries ago, hard work, determination, an ability to adapt and a faith in a higher power, have helped Americans to endure whatever the forces of man and nature have thrown at them. Those qualities still endure today, for which we give thanks.
