Lincoln made a Thanksgiving plea for peace. Let’s now envision a world without war or hunger.
When President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the National Thanksgiving Day holiday in 1863, he had peace on his mind. The United States was in the midst of The Civil War.
Lincoln called for a Thanksgiving prayer to end the war: “to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”
Peace abroad was important to Lincoln as well, shown by his stating in the Thanksgiving proclamation that “peace has been preserved with all nations.” While the North and South fought the Civil War, there was also the danger of the U.S. going to war with Great Britain again. The U.S. almost withdrew from an agreement with Britain that disarmed warships on the Great Lakes. Fortunately the historic Rush-Bagot agreement, which has symbolized the peaceful border with Canada, was saved.
See my full commentary in today’s Chicago Sun-Times
Author William Lambers 