How George Washington Angered Lawmakers over Thanksgiving

How George Washington Angered Lawmakers over Thanksgiving

In September 1789, the government of the United States was only a few months old. George Washington was president – the nation's first. Congress was new, too. Some of the early lawmakers came to the president with a question: Would he call for a national Thanksgiving?

One aim was to help unify¹ the young country, which was made of the 13 former colonies. Calling a national Thanksgiving would be a way to bring Americans together.

But other lawmakers strongly objected to the idea. Critics had two main concerns.

First, some saw Thanksgiving as a religious holiday. They noted² the president could not use the power of the federal government to urge Americans to follow -- or not follow -- a religious tradition.

Second, opponents of the measure believed the president did not have the right to call a national Thanksgiving. That power belonged to the leader of each state, they said.

In the end, Washington did formally call for a national Thanksgiving. It was the country's first presidential proclamation. In it, he called for a national "day of public thanksgiving and prayer."

He also tried to satisfy opponents of the idea.

Melanie Kirkpatrick is the writer of "Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience." She explains that Washington sent copies of his proclamation to the leader of each of the 13 states. He asked them to call a national Thanksgiving on the day he had chosen.

The president was very well respected, Kirkpatrick notes. And so the state leaders all agreed.

In the years that followed, some presidents issued their own proclamations for a day of thanksgiving; many others did not.

Finally, in 1941, lawmakers in Congress made the fourth Thursday in November a legal holiday.

This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will gather to eat a meal and express their thanks. Their gatherings⁴ may echo⁵ George Washington's first Thanksgiving proclamation. In it, the first president made a point of declaring that people of all religions should celebrate Thanksgiving.

That idea is still important. Almost everyone in the country, including immigrants, observes the holiday in some way.

Kirkpatrick says that for new Americans, the day can be a rite³ of passage. In her words, "The idea is that once you celebrate Thanksgiving, you know you are truly participating in a national festival that cements your position as an American."

Words in This Story

proclamation - n. an official statement or announcement made by a person in power or by a government

echo - v. to have a feature or quality that repeats or resembles (something else)

rite of passage - n. an act that is a symbol of an important change in someone's life

participate - v. to be involved with others in doing something : to take part in an activity or event with others

cement - v. to make (something) stronger

 

1 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

4 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

5 echo   

n.回音，共鸣；vi.发出回声；vt.模仿，附和

参考例句：

• She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着，然后聆听着回声。
• I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。