A special day of thanks.
Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday during the height of the Civil
War.
On Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued a National Thanksgiving Proclamation.
"The year that is drawing to a close has been filled with the blessings of
fruitful fields and healthful skies," he wrote.
Filled with optimism in the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln believed the North
was gaining the upper hand and that peace soon would be restored to the divided
country.
"It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the blessings] should be
solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one
voice by the whole American people."
A. Lincoln
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