On September 6, 1620, a ship called The Mayflower set out from England carrying 102 passengers. It was headed for the glorious, resourceful New World. Every one of the ship's passengers belonged to one of two different groups: the separatists (who referred to themselves as the “saints”) and the “strangers” (called so by the separatists). Headed for somewhere they hoped would bring them religious freedom and a resourceful, plentiful place to live, these people risked everything for this new life. This journey, however, was far from pleasurable.

All 102 people, besides the ship’s crew, spent the entire voyage in the cargo area of The Mayflower--a very small merchant ship. After 66 days at sea, it is viewed as amazing that only one death occurred. Thankfully, near the end of November, they sighted land at what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At this point, the Saints and Strangers made an agreement called the Mayflower Compact. This agreement promised equal opportunities for all people and bound them together into the group known as the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims suffered through an extremely harsh winter in 1620 and nearly half of their population died of starvation or sicknesses--including smallpox and influenza. By the time winter ended, the number of colonists had dwindled down to only 55 individuals. In the spring of 1621, however, deliverance came through the native people: the Wampanoag Indians.  With the help of these people the Pilgrims learned how to catch and use fish as fertilizer for their crops. They also learned how to plant corn and how to hunt fowl.

Squanto, a native of the Patuxtet tribe, also befriended and aided the Pilgrims. Squanto had spent several years in England and thus knew enough English to be able to communicate effectively with the Pilgrims. Together with the natives, the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest in 1621. William Bradford, governor of the Pilgrim colonists, announced a harvest feast to give thanks for God’s providence. The Pilgrims, along with many of the natives, spent three days enjoying the benefits of their harvest, thanking their friends, and praising God for His blessings. This is the event we now recognize as the first Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving feast was not intended to be an annual event, nor was it repeated regularly for many years. Thanksgiving celebrations were still held occasionally in different parts of the country, but it was well over a hundred years before the next formal Thanksgiving was held. In 1777, George Washington declared a national day of Thanksgiving, and this was the first time that the whole of America participated in this holiday.

Washington also declared that November 26th be a permanent national holiday of Thanksgiving in 1789, but many people did not like this decision, and so Thanksgiving celebrations were held only at a state level for some time. The Protestant Episcopal Church also declared a day of thanksgiving to take place on the first Thursday of every November, but, again, this was not widely participated in. Thanksgiving celebrations were held only occasionally in states from this point forward, usually taking place sometime in November.

It was mainly due to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale that, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as a national holiday, set aside for giving thanks. Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of a popular and influential ladies’ magazine, dedicated a large part of her life to promoting the idea of a national holiday devoted to giving thanks, and it is largely because of her efforts that Lincoln publicly declared this holiday.

The presidents succeeding Lincoln followed in his footsteps by declaring the last Thursday in November as an official Thanksgiving Day each year, but it was not until 1941 that Thanksgiving Day came to be as we know it, on the fourth Thursday of the month of November. In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November and the United States Congress made it a permanent national holiday two years later in 1941.