Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a National holiday during the depths of the civil war!

he said " the nation needed a moment to be thankful for the nation's bounties "which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which the
y come." He said that the "gracious gifts of the most high God ... should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people."


http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Early-hours-give-Thanksgiving-the-creeps-4058457.php#ixzz2CwmXYtQy