Thanksgiving is a typical American holiday. Invented in New England, proclaimed by George Washington, etched into the national calendar by Abraham Lincoln, and with similar hallmarks throughout this vast nation, turkey, stuffing, dressing, love, laughter, and gratitude It is celebrated in Unusual and often deeply divided people.
We all know the well-known story of New England Pilgrims sitting with Native Americans to celebrate a successful harvest. This feast is often described as the first Thanksgiving. It was the Thanksgiving harvest festival, but it wasn't Thanksgiving yet. In fact, New England Puritans held many Thanksgivings at different times of the year, as well as official fasting days, in subsequent decades, but over the years the Thanksgiving consensus and There was no regular habit.
In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation of the new national government, but it was a one-off. His next day did not come until 1795. John Adams of New England proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving, but Thomas Jefferson of Virginia did not. James Madison became president in 1809, but he waited until 1815 and the end of the War of 1812 before declaring a national day of thanksgiving.
In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale, author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Lamb,” began a nearly 40-year campaign to have Thanksgiving declared an annual national holiday. Eventually, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave her just that, and from then on she became known as the “Mother of Thanksgiving.”
But in reality, Hale was just the godfather of Thanksgiving. Before her, there was a now largely forgotten New England literary woman named Hannah Mother Crocker.
Crocker was born in the summer of 1752 into a family that might be described as “New England royalty” if her family hadn't spent so much energy fighting against actual royal authority. Her father was Samuel Mather, son of Cotton Mather, grandson of Increase Mather, and great-grandson of Richard Mather. Her great-grandmother was colonial religious dissident Anne Hutchinson.
In short, Crocker came from a long line of upstart Americans who never believed that the so-called elite had the right to control the lives and souls of ordinary people. Her ancestors laid the foundations of American freedom and independence, often governing the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the colonies, and always adhering to the idea that America was destined for greatness.
Crocker's contribution to the Thanksgiving tradition comes in the form of a sermon on Thanksgiving delivered on November 24, 1813. It was not customary in many parts of the world, much less in the United States, for women to write and preach sermons. However, Ms. Crocker was well-educated under her father's supervision and was a passionate advocate of women's rights. She published sermons under the pseudonym “Mother June,” reminiscent of her great-grandfather.
Her sermon was written at a dark time for this country. We were again at war with England. Many New England ministers opposed the war, derisively calling it “Madison's War.” Hutchinson joined these war opponents in a sermon a year ago, calling the war an unjust war and a sign that God's “American Israel” people had gone astray.
Crocker's 1813 sermon is titled “Thanksgiving Sermon.” The title recalls the proclamations of Washington and Adams and the customs of our New England ancestors. She doesn't seem to feel the need for government permission to declare a day in late November Thanksgiving.
The theme of Mr. Crocker's sermon is the restoration of American greatness. It takes as its starting point the words of Philippians 4:6: But in everything, by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ” In other words, be bold when you talk to God and when you reach out to Him with your needs because you are special to Him. You deserve His love. Instead of just accepting what the world has to offer, have the courage to appeal to God.
For Crocker, this wasn't just a personal commandment—though it certainly was. It was also a lesson to the United States, which she believed had been blessed by God. What was needed was a return to faith in America's God-ordained greatness, an embrace of American exceptionalism, and a rejection of the idea that all we can do is deal with decline. We needed to replace fear and anxiety with gratitude, prayer, and confidence that we, the American people, are worthy of God's love.
“There is a very heavy cloud hanging over our country, but we must not succumb to uncertain care,” Crocker wrote.
Crocker then describes the path to national salvation: make america great again: “Guys, please go back to the good old days.”
You can imagine her adjusting the brim of her red hat, giving a provocative OK sign to the crowd, and perhaps doing the Trump dance for a few seconds.
Mr. Crocker's sermon laid out the story of America's Thanksgiving tradition and its connection to America's greatness. She explained that her sermon continues the customs of the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth and George Washington's proclamation. She drew sharp contrasts between the United States and the rest of the world's chaotic, war-torn, tyrannical politics.
Washington was praised for having “negotiated peace with all nations as the first prelude to national happiness, knowing that war was a disaster to all morals, virtues, and religions.” In contrast, Madison's government was accused of declaring “a brutal, imprudent, and unjust war against the innocent people of Canada.” Fetters overseas lead us astray. God wants us to put America first, Crocker argued.
Crocker cited America's treatment of Jews as a particularly important aspect of American history.
“My American friends, let us be encouraged. We hope that the Lord will visit us soon in His mercy and in some special way. “We have reason to be grateful that we are the only nation under whose government the Jews, an ethnic group, have never been persecuted,” she wrote.
“Do not be cautious, but by your prayers and supplications with thanksgiving make your requests known to God,” Crocker concluded. “And to him who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, praise and glory shall be given.”
It was a woman's sermon. rebel against the powers of the world, and servant God's. And those two elements combined to make her something else: a true American patriot.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Be grateful and eat well Be careful of waste. In other words, let Thanksgiving be a day when prayer, gratitude, and hope drive away the anxieties and fears that the world imposes on us.
And let us say a small prayer of gratitude to Hannah Mother Crocker, the founding mother of our great national Thanksgiving tradition.
A version of this article first appeared on Breitbart News in 2019.
