Before Thanksgiving meant turkey dinners and parade floats, it started with one determined woman and a very important letter.

In this History-Sode, Auntie Jo Jo tells the story of Sarah Josepha Hale — the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb — who spent 17 years writing to presidents to create a national day of gratitude.
Her persistence finally reached Abraham Lincoln, who made Thanksgiving a holiday during one of the hardest times in American history.
It’s a story about hope, kindness, and how one voice can make a difference.

Sources:

• Library of Congress, Primary Documents in American History: Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863)

• Smithsonian Magazine, “The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving a National Holiday”

• National Archives, Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

• National Museum of American History, Sarah Josepha Hale Papers