An avid young reader who had never come across a book written by a woman, Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879) was inspired from an early age to “promote the reputation of my own sex, and do something for my own country.” And so she did. A staunch advocate for women’s education and economic independence, Sarah became a pioneering editor and prolific writer who published nearly fifty volumes of work – novels, short stories, cookbooks, poems – throughout her life, one of which included her most famous nursery rhyme, ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ (1830). She’s also known as the “Godmother of Thanksgiving” for her tireless campaign to establish the day as a national holiday in America.
Sarah Josepha Buell was blessed with a mother who homeschooled her. Born in 1788, Sarah grew into an avid reader. But she made an astute observation – “of all the books I saw, few were written by Americans, and none by women,” so she decided to “promote the reputation of my own sex, and do something for my own country.” But there was a snag. Women weren’t allowed to attend college. She could have stopped formal learning, but she didn’t. Her brother shared his Dartmouth textbooks and Sarah’s self-education continued. She began writing poems and teaching. Then, Sarah married David Hale and began raising children. With the responsibilities of running a busy household, surely, she had plenty of reasons to stop reading, writing, and preparing her mind. Right?
Sarah and her husband remained on a regiment of learning. For two hours every evening, David taught Sarah reasoning-and they cherished the time together. He was indeed a smart man because, after he died of a stroke nine years into their marriage and two weeks after the couple’s fifth child was born, Sarah Josepha Hale was not left unprepared and helpless. Undoubtedly she was devastated in 1822 with her husbands death, but sometimes it’s the worst in life that requires one to buck up and tackle challenges.
Sarah knew how to write and was already stocked with a collection of poems she wrote before her husband’s death. Those were published and then a second book followed in 1830. Poems for Our Children was a hit with “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” one of her most famous poems. It followed her wherever she went… 😉 Hale wrote books and became the editor of a ladies’ magazine. Steadily she wrote her way into prominence and used her position to improve life for families in America-not just her own family’s life.
Sarah’s “predilection for literary pursuits” became the vehicle through which she advocated for women. In 1828, she took the helm at Ladies’ Magazine of Boston, the first magazine edited for women by a woman. Nine years later, it merged with Lady’s Book, a journal published in Philadelphia by Louis Godey, becoming Godey’s Lady’s Book. That’s where Sarah took on her preferred title of “Editress”, which she held for forty years, until her retirement in 1877 at age 89. In that time, she made Godey’s Lady’s Book one of the most-read women’s magazines of the 19th century.
Through the pages of her influential editorial platform, Sarah was the arbiter of womanhood as she defined it. Among the hand-colored fashion plates, household tips, recipes, and moral stories that peppered Godey’s Lady’s Book, she wrote of the importance of girls’ and women’s education, argued for “property rights for married women and improvements in women’s wages”, and published works from women contributors. But, interestingly, Sarah also believed in gender roles – men do this, women do that – and was opposed to women’s suffrage (voting fell into her man sphere because 1. politics would apparently corrupt women’s moral compasses and 2. it would lessen their influence at home).
It was Sarah’s reverence for the domestic arts that brings us to how she became known as the “Godmother of Thanksgiving”. Thanksgiving had been celebrated in the U.S. since the 1600s, but not in all States and with no set date. Sarah set out to change this. So in her first year running Godey’s Lady’s Book, Sarah wrote the first of her Thanksgiving editorials, “praising the holiday for its domestic and moral influence.”
“…might, without inconvenience, be observed on the same day of November, say the last Thursday in the month, throughout all New England; and also in our sister states, who have engrafted it upon their social system. It would then have a national character, which would, eventually, induce all the states to join in the commemoration of ‘Ingathering,’ which it celebrates. It is a festival which will never become obsolete, for it cherishes the best affections of the heart – the social and domestic ties. It calls together the dispersed members of the family circle, and brings plenty, joy and gladness to the dwellings of the poor and lowly.”
This kicked off her nearly 26-year long, one-woman crusade to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. In addition to using the pages of Godey’s Lady’s Book to campaign, Sarah also wrote letters to any and every politician she could reach, and lobbied no fewer than four U.S. presidents.
As civil war ravaged our nation, this patriot woman did not believe that her voice was too insignificant to matter. Sarah Josepha Hale persistently wrote letters and finally earned President Abraham Lincoln’s attention. As a middle-aged woman, she wanted her countrymen to consider the blessings they’d been given – even though the United States was far from united. Embroiled in an ugly civil war between ideologies– angry words and battles ended relationships between friends and family members. But, Sarah Josepha Hale recognized a truth. She could not sit back. She would not allow herself to feel helpless. Her voice was NOT too insignificant. Her life and contributions mattered.
Sarah Josepha Hale decided to petition President Lincoln for a national holiday-a day of thanks. And, she got it. She wrote the following excerpts to Lincoln on September 28, 1863 and by October 3, 1863 Lincoln agreed:
“Sir.– Permit me, as Editress of the “Lady’s Book”, to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and — as I trust — even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival…For the last fifteen years I have set forth this idea in the “Lady’s Book”, and placed the papers before the Governors of all the States and Territories — also I have sent these to our Ministers abroad, and our Missionaries to the heathen — and commanders in the Navy. From the recipients, I have received, uniformly the most kind approval.
Two of these letters, one from Governor (now General) Banks and one from Governor Morgan are enclosed; both gentlemen as you will see, have nobly aided to bring about the desired Thanksgiving Union. But I find there are obstacles not possible to be overcome without legislative aid — that each State should, by statute, make it obligatory on the Governor to appoint the last Thursday of November, annually, as Thanksgiving Day; — or, as this way would require years to be realized, it has occurred to me that a proclamation from the President of the United States would be the best, surest and most fitting method of National appointment. I have written to my friend, Hon. Wm. H. Seward, and requested him to confer with President Lincoln on this subject. As the President of the United States has the power of appointments for the District of Columbia and the Territories; also for the Army and Navy and all American citizens abroad who claim protection from the U. S. Flag — could he not, with right as well as duty, issue his proclamation for a Day of National Thanksgiving for all the above classes of persons? And would it not be fitting and patriotic for him to appeal to the Governors of all the States, inviting and commending these to unite in issuing proclamations for the last Thursday in November as the Day of Thanksgiving for the people of each State? Thus, the great Union Festival of America would be established. Now the purpose of this letter is to entreat President Lincoln to put forth his Proclamation, appointing the last Thursday in November (which falls this year on the 26th) as the National Thanksgiving for all those classes of people who are under the National Government particularly, and commending this Union Thanksgiving to each State Executive: thus, by the noble example and action of the President of the United States, the permanency and unity of our Great American Festival of Thanksgiving would be forever secured.”
Finally, on October 3, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation making the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. In the days before women could vote, how did she become so influential? Hale had prepared for years before finally winning her campaign for Thanksgiving. Are you preparing to have influence today and in the future?
It’s quite a story, isn’t it? This middle-aged woman from the war-torn 1800s (who wasn’t allowed to attend college…whose husband died leaving her alone with five children), still managed to pull herself up by her patriot bootstraps and influence President Abraham Lincoln, of all people, to proclaim a holiday that you’re about to enjoy-a century and a half later. She could have opted for the path of a sad sob story– fading away into self-pity or dependency on others. But, naw. She was prepared for the challenges.
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