0:01 who are you and where are you going what do you [Music] want hello and welcome to this special edition of the way to wow shows for Thanksgiving day 20124 I'm your host Kevin bemel and uh normally we're here on Wednesdays at 10: a.m. Pacific time for my show people making money but tomorrow is Thanksgiving day and uh and
0:38 so rather than uh do a show on the day itself when I think it's you know probably want to be spending time with uh friends and family and and and getting ready to watch the uh I Love Lucy Marathon or the Twilight show Marathon twil um The Twilight Zone Marathon uh thought we we'd meet today and uh and and uh talk about the holiday a little bit and and prepare ourselves for a day of U of feasting and meaning so um as I mentioned uh today is a is a special
1:14 edition of of the show and and uh specifically to to talk about uh Thanksgiving day I I I do these special editions on um every holiday um and uh I think it gives us a chance during our our busy you know working professional lives our taking care of our families to just reflect on um some of the larger meanings of life if you will so this is maybe more in line with my show jiggers as Place uh but uh any event I I I do thank you for
1:51 for for joining me so uh Thanksgiving excuse me is is perhaps the oldest of holiday in the United States um the for you know for those of you who went to school here in the United States especially if you're more of my vintage right we learned about the first quote unquote first Thanksgiving of 1621 when H the pilgrims and the the um wamp wanan um got together for a
2:28 a three-day feast in the Plymouth Colony which is present day Massachusetts and um and the the um were led by Massa soyat um and and they um the U Native Americans and and and colonists got together um shared their food and there were games and and uh and gave thanks to to God for um for help helping them survive in um what was for
3:03 the colonists certainly a very harsh um environment compared to what they'd come from um and it also was the culmination of the sharing of agricultural knowledge um by the um with with the colonists so that they could survive through farming Etc um it was not called Thanksgiving Day um the way we do now but it was a a day of Thanksgiving um and and so that's why um uh you know it it it has come down
3:40 through history as the the first Thanksgiving um throughout the early colonial times so especially in New England um there were declared days of days of Thanksgiving from time to time um as as as you might imagine the Puritan influence on the colony um was such that they not only acknowledged God but God's Bounty um and and his grace in in helping them survive and um there was um
4:15 both um um uh feasting um at times but also the the Thanksgiving days um and I I would say Thanksgiving like with a small T small D um were were religiously oriented and so oftentimes um they were as likely to um be they were about fasting as opposed to feasting and and and prayer being a a central component of the marking of the day so um in some cases these um days of Thanksgiving were
4:52 were C celebrated to Mark the end of droughts or U military victories or Bountiful heart so um there was no sort of set schedule of them um but um um they were um you know there there were a number of different reasons why um days of Thanksgiving were recognized and into the um Revolutionary War era and the first national Thanksgiving in 1777 so um just after the start of the
5:28 war of independence dep um the the Continental Congress um declared a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate the victory at the Battle of Saratoga um in in at at that time uh victories by the the the Continental forces the American forces were um somewhat few and far between um and so uh you know this was a the Battle of Saratoga was particular was a particularly worthy of of of recognition um and so this this day of Thanksgiving was uh was declared by the Continental
6:05 Congress um the there was still at this time no set scheduled of of Thanksgiving days there was not an annual day um but um at times of national significance um there were days of there were declarations um um sometimes nationally often times more Regional or or locally of of days of Thanksgiving so then in 1789 um at the request of Congress and
6:40 I'll talk more about this U particular event in history um in a few moments um President George Washington um proclaimed November 26th uh 1789 as a day of Thanksgiving and prayer um and and like I said this is going to be kind of the larger subject for the show so I'm going to skip over the details of that which I'll cover in a moment and continue on with with the history of Thanksgiving so um thereafter there was a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday and
7:15 Sarah Joseph hail who became known as the mother of Thanksgiving who she was a writer and an editor so she campaigned for decades to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday holiday she she um she published articles she wrote letters to politicians including President Abraham Lincoln and um I don't want to say solely but but um in due part uh in in due tribute to her persistence as well as that of others um Abraham
7:50 Lincoln in 1863 established uh Thanksgiving this was in the midst of the Civil War um one of the most um uh destructive time periods in American history and he declared that the last Thursday in November would be a national day of Thanksgiving and prayer now it is it's worth noting that um in both the case of uh President Washington and and President Lincoln who are widely held to
8:26 be the two greatest American Presidents Thanksgiving was a time of of prayer um and and and so it was in other words we weren't just giving this sort of General thanks we were giving thanks to God uh for for his Bounty for his salvation um for for his grace and and that was uh recognized by both of these um both of these presidents so in terms of modern times um oh one more thing about Abraham Lincoln so one of the reasons he
9:04 declared um a Thanksgiving day was to foster a sense of of of unity during a time of of unprecedented division um in in the United States um you know there can be no greater division than a civil war really um and and uh and so that that was U you know a good part of the reason for um for that proc for for establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday so coming into more contemporary times um Franklin Roosevelt from 1939 to
9:41 1941 um wanted to extend the holiday shopping season the Christmas shopping season during um uh the Great Depression [Music] and that was weird um and um and so he um moved Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November um in 1939 um and uh as was the case with many of FDR's decisions this one was not uh universally popular it was in fact quite
10:18 controversial um and and and many people derisively called called it franksgiving rather than Thanksgiving um and and and you know we're not we're not happy about um you know this the sort of commercialization of of Thanksgiving Day so in 1941 Congress officially set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November where it remains today so um that has been the practice now for the last you know 80 plus years
10:55 and while early thanksgivings and on into the 19th century focused on uh prayer and Community Gatherings so you know modern Thanksgiving really has become a time for family and friends to get together um there's usually a large meal of course there's the Staples of turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes or yams and pumpkin pie and and uh pecan pie and you know cornbread and and and all these things um I know one year um this is quite a
11:33 while ago now um over 20 years ago I did a big Thanksgiving feast with traditional foods I had turkey I had venison I had cider um and uh you know and and uh I asked a friend of mine to to give a prayer of Thanksgiving before we we started the meal we I think we had about 20 25 people there for that it was really a a memorable event we um us usually had uh three generations of of um family members and friends there so um another contemporary tra um tradition
12:10 that uh celebrates its 100th anniversary this year is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which was started in 1924 um in in New York City and uh you know it's it's probably best known for its huge balloon animals um I know when when I was a kid I used to watch it every year um and I seem to remember Casper the Friendly Ghost was one of them Mickey Mouse um now of course some of the characters are more up to date I was reading in the newspaper uh yesterday I believe it was that um
12:45 SpongeBob SquarePants I think it's called is is there along with Mickey Mouse uh but these big balloon characters are are essentially pulled down the street by by people holding on to to uh um you know lines to keep them from I guess floating away um but there's marching bands high school and college marching bands and uh very much an American uh uh iconic uh Tradition now although I think it originally started as a way for Macy's to publicize his store and and and you know make
13:20 people wantan to want to or cause people to want to shop there um another you know what has become iconic tradition of Thanksgiving day is watch watching football games this dates all the way back to the late 19th century if you can imagine so we I think I tend to think of football as being a a much more contemporary sport but indeed it you know it it dates back over a century now and and so watching football games I know when my dad was alive and and and you know he we would celebrate Thanksgiving with him um you know watching a football game and having
13:57 a couple of years was was how we started the afternoon out and and uh my my Dad loved football I I he taught me to um appreciate the game and starting as a very young man in in Dallas Texas I think I was uh seven years old at the time and I remember him wanting to watch a football game with his son and handing me a can of beer and telling me to take a sip and I thought that was about the nastiest thing I had ever drunk so he did prevent me from um having a wild college time I mean a wild High School time trying to get beer when I was underage so my my dad had a a he had a a
14:34 smart cup a good brain um and of course the you know there is there is the big you know Black Friday shopping day which is you know the Friday after Thanksgiving and and that's been extended to um I think like giving Tuesday now and all these kind of things um and uh I you know I'm I'm led to believe people go crazy in the stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving I can assure you I avoid them uh like like the plague but uh um Thanksgiving and uh and and Independence Day are are certainly my my two favorite uh national holidays
15:11 and Thanksgiving in particular because I like to cook um really I I you know when when I used to do big thanksgivings I would start you know days and days before well I'd usually start two three weeks before planning the menu um inviting people over to you know get them booked before they made other plans and cooking usually lasted over two or sometimes even three days so um there there was a a bountiful Feast at Shea beml um so now going back to uh George Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation of
15:46 1789 so it was meant to designate a national day of gratitude and prayer um and it was very closely and deeply tied to the forign of the United States following the adoption of the US Constitution in 1787 so um as as as you undoubtedly recall George Washington was the first president of the United States and um the the federal much of of the federal government especially the executive branch was formed under uh president
16:21 Washington's leadership and he set many many precedents um for for the office um including the um practice that presidents would only serve two terms and would would voluntarily essentially you know not run for a third term and that lasted all the way until um FDR was President he he broke that precedent serving four terms although only a few months of his fourth term leading to the um the adopting of a constitutional amendment um um that only allowed a
16:58 president president to serve for two terms so um president uh uh Washington was inaugurated in April 30th of 1789 as the first president of the United States under the Constitution and he um basically almost by acclamation was elected president not literally there was of course an election um but but it was felt that there was no um more appropriate person to fill the role
17:33 than Washington he was seen as a great unifier he had um he had been the commander-in-chief of the Armed American armed forces during the uh war for independence he got the country through very very tough times militarily and and was almost universally revered um especially at this point in his life by by by Americans across the board and he he really reflected what at the time were shared values of religious
18:09 observance morality civic virtue all of these things that that um now maybe seem a little you know High futin perhaps or a little outmoded um George Washington was the icon of of these um American ideals um and that was also I think another reason why um he was elected the first president of the United States um so a few months into president Washington's presidency he re Congress passed a res a resolution
18:45 requesting that the president declare a day of Thanksgiving and prayer it was introduced by a congressman named Elias budau um and and it the reason Congress did this is they wanted to acknowledge the Divine Providence that was a was the what they viewed as being the uh the factor in Su the successful establishment of the United States of America um and so the the roots of Thanksgiving are are
19:21 definitely you know intertwined with belief in God um with with with religion um and and and and that for many people lasts until this day so as you'll hear in a few minutes when I read the proclamation um it it acknowledges gratitude to almighty God and his role um in allowing the Constitution to be peacefully adopted it was not a sure thing in fact right now I'm I'm reading the um Federalist Papers which was a series of 85 um uh um
20:00 articles um supporting or or explaining why the Constitution should be adopted and and and they were they were issued by or they were written by um uh um oh gosh Madison James Madison John J and um I'm going up on the name of the third uh writer um it kind of not literally but kind of in the name of the federal party which was the party supporting adoption of the Constitution but there was a non-f Federalist Party that was opposed
20:36 to um to adoption of the Constitution at least as it was issued by the Constitutional Convention and um it was no small thing that in in the end the Constitution was ratified and and there wasn't uh Civil War over um over the the adoption and creation of of the government so it really was a matter to be very grateful for um the the the other um um or another aspect of Washington's Proclamation was he wanted to bestow um he asked almighty God to
21:13 bestow blessing on the country to bring about National prosperity and Tranquility um I think we would all um Revel in that and hopefully we will have a a sense of that tomorrow um and finally asking for um guidance um in the future governance of the country um by the newly um formed government and and and on into you know on after that and so it was there was a sense of Thanksgiving for the past Thanksgiving
21:48 for the present Thanksgiving for the future um and and I think that really speaks to the perspective that George Washington brought to his leadership where uh you know he wasn't a man to only look at the short term um for example his um only serving two terms where where by the way there were people who wanted to establish George Washington as a as a a monarch a Perpetual as as a king a Perpetual Monarch um and and who would love to have had him run uh you know
22:24 been elected president and basically until he died and and Washington looked looking at the future decided that that would set a very bad precedent and so he restricted himself to two terms um so the the the Proclamation was issued on October 3rd 1789 and it declared Thursday November 26 1789 as a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer um that was the offici now um to the best of my knowledge and and I I I researched this as much as I could I don't think Washington ever did like a
23:00 formal reading in front of Congress or anything like that I believe it was published in um a number of of newspapers um you know throughout the colonies and and and that's that's how the Proclamation was made and indeed as I mentioned in the history of Thanksgiving Day so uh was uh George Washington's proclamation of Thanksgiving started us started our country on the path to eventually the establishment of a national day of Thanksgiving so that is the history of this of this
23:37 holiday the proclamation itself is not particularly long um although um I I I find these kind of things quite moving and and sometimes you know brevity is is is much more moving than uh you know than a length than a lengthy uh situation and so so this is George Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation of 1789 okay by the president of the United States of America a proclamation whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the
24:13 Providence of almighty God to obey his will to be grateful for his benefits and humbly to implore his protection and favor and whereas both houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend men to the people of the United States a d a day of public Thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledge to be observed by acknowledging with grateful Hearts the many signal favors of almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a
24:48 form of government for their safety and happiness now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 2 sixth day of November next to be devoted by the people of these states to to the service of that great and glorious being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was that is or that will be that we may all we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country
25:25 previous to their becoming a nation for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late War for the great degree of Tranquility Union and plenty which we have since enjoyed for the Peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious
26:02 liberty with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and ruler of Nations and beseech him to Pardon our national and other transgressions to enable us whether in public or private stations to perform
26:39 our several and relative duties properly and punctually to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise just and constitutional laws discreetly and Faithfully executed and obeyed to protect and guide all sovereigns and Nations especially such as have shown us kind shown us un kindness unto us and to bless them with good government peace and Concord to promote the knowledge and
27:16 practice of True Religion and virtue and the increase of science among them and us and generally to Grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal Prosperity as he alone knows to be best given under my hand at the city of New York the third day of October in the year of Our Lord 1789 G Washington I don't know about you but
27:52 reading such words makes me a a little Misty um it it it hearkens back to a a time of um I think actually so greater Unity um a a time when um when a a president spoke of values and virtues um we had confidence that that he um actually held those virtues and and that the wishes and the prayers he made for our nation are are one ones that that we
28:32 would be blessed to have today and so I um on on this the the day before Thanksgiving Day um I want to take this opportunity first of all to express my gratitude for your your viewership for the comments you've posted the thoughts that that you've brought to my attention uh for joining me um and and giving of your precious time to share ideas um to hopefully make our lives better make our
29:10 Lo localities our states our our country better and to um share a sense of of community and more importantly Unity as we strive in in this you know difficult work a day world so um I I I offer you my blessing um that that you and your family your loved ones your friends have a a wonderful wonderful Thanksgiving that you find meaning in this day and
29:45 you also find some happiness some fun um um and and some great food and and as we head into uh the last the final month of the year into you know really into the the heart of the the holiday season that you'll carry with you George Washington's wishes and when you interact with um other people your fellow Americans that you will give a thought to perhaps helping make um
30:23 president Washington's blessings for our nation come to reality so thank you so much for joining me today wishing again you and all and you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving and looking forward to seeing you in the coming days and weeks and months and and years um signing off as I always do one of the people that I'm most grateful for in my life that I got to know her the last year of her life Marie darling You Are and ever will
30:58 be my bell courage