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Teaching the Civil War Podcast Episode 9.5 – Happy Thanksgiving

by fifer1863 on November 23, 2011

Thanks for staying subscribed to my podcast and I hope you enjoy listening. Just a short episode today to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Feedback on the show? email me at podcast@teachthecivilwar.com

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Music is by the Mark Ferguson and is used with permission.

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Today is Thanksgiving and it is a holiday steeped in tradition. I wonder how many of you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who, on October 3, 1863, proclaimed “the last Thursday of November” as Thanksgiving Day. Another interesting bit of information is that a lady by the name of Sara J. Hale, the Editress of the “Ladys Book”, wrote a letter to President Lincoln on September 28, 1863 and asked him proclaim that day in November as a National Thanksgiving Day. I have included a copy of Lincoln’s proclamation at the end of this post.

In addition, I thought it would be interesting to show the following Alfred Waud sketch from the Library of Congress. This is a sketch of a Union camp on Thanksgiving in 1861. If you look closely you can see a soldier carrying a turkey and a dog waiting for him to drop a scrap. There are pots cooking over fires, and hungry men awaiting at a table on the right hand side. The TIFF version of the photo can be found HERE.

So, while you are watching the parade and eating your turkey, pause and say thanks to the soldiers not only of today but of the Civil War era, for without them, what we have to be thankful for might be vastly different.

A Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, 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 theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed,

Done at the city of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State

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References:
The history place – Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from The History Place Web site: http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm

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Digital Historical Newspapers

by fifer1863 on May 9, 2011

While browsing my Delicious feed the other day, I came across the HistoryBuff.com website and found it very interesting and thought I’d share. HistoryBuff.com is providing digitized versions of newspapers from throughout history. According the the website the “site focuses primarily on HOW news of major, and not so major, events in American history were reported in newspapers of the time. In addition, there is information about the technology used to produce newspapers over the past 400 years.”

Naturally, my first thought was to explore the Civil War era. So I clicked on the “Online Newspaper Archive” and then selected the 1861-1865 folder. To my surprise, there were only three folders (63-65) within this folder. Alas, perhaps they have not digitized all of the papers from 1861 & 1862 yet. From there I drilled down to 1863 and saw a link for the November 20th Edition of the New York Times covering the Gettysburg Address. From there it pulls up a thumbnail version of the newspaper which you can hover over and a magnified version of that area of the paper will appear in the center of the page.

After some zooming around, I finally found the article about the ceremony.

It was interesting to read about the events that occurred that day (and the preceding evening) from a reporter’s point of view. As I was reading the article I was thinking about how this could be used in the classroom and came up with some ideas. Aside from using it as reference for a report, you could have your students research the event using photographs and other digital primary resources and then have them “report” on the event as though they were there. You could use this as an example for how one could be written or use it afterward to see how your student’s compared to the original.

What are your thoughts on how this could be used in the classroom?

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Abraham Lincoln Cartoons

by fifer1863 on February 14, 2011

I came across the following link and thought I would share:

The HarpWeek website and has over 400 political cartoons on the Lincoln presidency. You can view different people, symbols, topics, places or artists that had something to do with these cartoons. You could easily have your students select one of the hundreds of cartoons and then research and write an “editorial” abut the cartoon.

Here is an interesting example:

This cartoon is from The Phunny Phellow paper published in October 1864 and was drawn by Thomas Nast. Confederate President Jefferson Davis can be seen here issuing a quote that he gave during an interview. According to some, Lincoln was the major reason that there could be no peace in the country. Thomas Nast, who was an ally of Lincoln, used this cartoon to illustrate how Davis also shared some of the blame in preventing peace. Pay particular attention to the “History of the Confederacy” heading.

Why did Nast choose those locations and events? What impact do you think this cartoon would have on people?

Check out the cartoons and let me know how you can integrate them.

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A Thanksgiving Proclamation

November 25, 2010

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