{"id":63291,"date":"2020-11-20T13:39:49","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T18:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=63291"},"modified":"2024-08-07T14:27:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T18:27:56","slug":"when-did-thanksgiving-head-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/when-did-thanksgiving-head-south.html","title":{"rendered":"When Did Thanksgiving Head South?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article \u2013 the third in a series of three articles celebrating Thanksgiving \u2013 Jane Hampton Cook <\/em>shows how Thanksgiving Day migrated to the South. Jane is a presidential historian and author of ten books, including her new book Resilience on Parade: Short Stories of Suffragists & Women\u2019s Battle for the Vote. She is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War<\/a>. She was the first female White House webmaster (2001-03). Her works can be found at Janecook.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have fond memories of frequently traveling from my home in Texas to my grandmother\u2019s house in Arkansas for Thanksgiving during my childhood. We had turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Imagine my surprise when I learned through newspaper articles in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> that Thanksgiving was not always celebrated in the South!<\/p>\n

This year, on the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock, it\u2019s fitting to share what newspapers tell us about when Thanksgiving spread to the South.<\/p>\n

The Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving in 1621. Massachusetts\u2019 Salem Gazette<\/em> reflected in 1813 that \u201cOur annual Thanksgivings have been observed from the first settlement of the country. May this institution ever be held sacred!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Salem Gazette (Salem, Massachusetts), 25 November 1813, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the New England Society of Philadelphia began holding its annual Thanksgiving feast to honor their New England tradition in 1815, they also sought to reinvent the dour image of their Pilgrim forefathers.<\/p>\n

In 1817 the Vermont Intelligencer and Bellows\u2019 Falls Advertiser<\/em> printed a speech that Nathaniel Chauncey gave at the annual New England Society of Philadelphia\u2019s Thanksgiving dinner. In introducing Chauncey\u2019s remarks, the newspaper\u2019s editor wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the observations it [Chauncey\u2019s speech] contains are particularly adapted to the meridian in which it was delivered, and were intended to counteract certain prejudices against the first settlers of New-England, which are too common in the Southern parts of the Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vermont<\/a>
Vermont Intelligencer and Bellows\u2019 Falls Advertiser (Bellows Falls, Vermont), 27 January 1817, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanksgiving became an annual national holiday when President Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863. Because of the Civil War, it\u2019s no surprise that many in the South initially opposed Thanksgiving. \u201cKing Abraham has issued a proclamation appointing the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving and prayer in Yankeedom,\u201d South Carolina\u2019s Charleston Courier<\/em> derided on October 12.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Charleston Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 12 October 1863, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Georgia\u2019s Augusta Chronicle<\/em> went further on October 15 by accusing Lincoln of fake news. \u201cThe document is on a par with the rest of the productions that have been sent out from Washington. Bombastic in tone, and full of false statements. In a thanksgiving proclamation one would suppose that Lincoln would tell the truth, but he has not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia), 15 October 1863, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How did Northern newspapers respond? In contrast, they put a positive spin on giving thanks. Cleveland\u2019s Plain Dealer<\/em> was thrilled on November 25 that \u201cthe whole North will be eating Thanksgiving dinners and mingling in social glee together, upon that occasion. What a grand spectacle!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 25 November 1863, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When did Americans in the South unite around Thanksgiving as a national holiday? It took more than 10 years.<\/p>\n

Ten years after Lincoln\u2019s proclamation, the Augusta Chronicle<\/em> wrote in 1873 about how Thanksgiving was different in the North and South.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the New England States, Thanksgiving Day is looked forward to with even greater pleasure than Christmas,\u201d it reported, while observing that Northerners \u201cprepare mountains of doughnuts and pumpkin pies for the occasion, the fatted goose is killed, and everybody is full of the event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia), 27 November 1873, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the South, the paper reported, Thanksgiving was still merely a day off \u2013 a time to close the banks, not to feast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Middle and Southern States less attention is paid to the day, and beyond its observance as a legal holiday and the services at the churches, where thanks are returned to a Gracious Providence for the blessings of the past year, there is no demonstration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Southerners still weren\u2019t feasting on pumpkin pie, they were beginning to give thanks, which was an improvement.<\/p>\n

Giving thanks and counting their blessings eventually brought Southerners around to feasting and fully embracing Thanksgiving. The proof wasn\u2019t in the pudding or football but in the turkey.<\/p>\n

In 1883, the Abbeville Press and Banner<\/em> in South Carolina published this Thanksgiving ditty:<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Abbeville Press and Banner (Abbeville, South Carolina), 21 November 1883, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clearly this clipping, among other articles of the time, show that feasting had become part of Thanksgiving Day in the South.<\/p>\n

Twenty years after Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as the annual day of Thanksgiving, Southerners and Northerners alike were all feasting. New England\u2019s Thanksgiving had come of age everywhere.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

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