Thanksgiving Proclamation
President Woodrow Wilson
TRANSCRIPTION
It has long been the honored custom of our people to turn in
the fruitful autumn of the year in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for
His many blessings and mercies to us as a nation. That custom we can follow now
even in the midst of the tragedy of a world shaken by war and immeasurable
disaster, in the midst of sorrow and great peril, because even amidst the
darkness that has gathered about us we can see the great blessings God has
bestowed upon us, blessings that are better than mere peace and the prosperity
of enterprise.
We have been given the opportunity to serve mankind as we
once served ourselves in the great day of our Declaration of Independence, by
taking up arms against a tyranny that threatened to master and debase men
everywhere and joining with other free peoples in demanding for all the nations
of the world what we then demanded and obtained for ourselves. In this day of
the revelation of our duty not only to defend our own rights as a nation but to
defend also the rights of free men throughout the world, there has been
vouchsafed us in full and inspiring measure the resolution and spirit of united
action. We have been brought to one mind and purpose. A new vigor of common
counsel and common action has been revealed in us. We should especially thank
God that in such circumstances, in the midst of our sorrow and sacrifice, the
great nation of which we are a part has been able to vindicate its purpose to
stand for peace and justice against the selfish and autocratic power pretending
to dominate the world; and that we have been able to do what we have done in
the way that we have done it, with great generosity and a fine display of the
spirit of humanity.
We should especially thank God that in such circumstances,
in the midst of our sorrow and sacrifice, the great nation of which we are a
part has been able to vindicate its purpose to stand for peace and justice
against the selfish and autocratic power pretending to dominate the world; and
that we have been able to do what we have done in the way that we have done it,
with great generosity and a fine display of the spirit of humanity.
And while we render thanks for these things let us pray
Almighty God that in all humbleness of spirit we may look always to Him for
guidance; that we may be kept constant in the spirit and purpose of service;
that by His grace our minds may be directed and our hands strengthened; and
that in His good time liberty and security and peace and the comradeship of a
common justice may be vouchsafed all the nations of the earth.
WHEREFORE, I, WOODROW WILSON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby designate Thursday, the twenty-ninth day
of November next, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer, and invite the
people throughout the land to cease upon that day from their ordinary
occupations and in their several homes and places of worship to render thanks
to God, the great ruler of nations.
In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
DONE in the District of Columbia this 7th day of November in
the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seventeen and of the
independence of the United States of America the one hundred and forty-second.
WOODROW WILSON
By the President:
ROBERT LANSING
Secretary of State.
[No. 1405.]
ANALYSIS
President Woodrow Wilson’s 1917 Thanksgiving Proclamation is
a poignant meditation on national purpose, unity, and divine providence during
wartime. Issued just seven months after the United States entered World War I,
this proclamation reflects Wilson’s vision of American moral leadership on the
global stage.
1. Thanksgiving in a Time of War
Wilson acknowledges the “tragedy of a world shaken by war,”
yet insists that even amidst “sorrow and great peril,” the American people have
reason to give thanks. The blessings for which thanks are rendered are not
material, but spiritual and civic: unity, resolve, purpose, and moral clarity
in the cause of defending liberty.
2. Echoes of the Founding
Wilson draws a powerful parallel between 1776 and 1917,
comparing the fight against tyranny in the Revolution with America’s entry into
World War I. This rhetorical move elevates the war effort to the level of a
sacred national duty, emphasizing continuity in America’s historical mission.
3. Moral Justification for War
In one of the most telling passages, Wilson thanks God that
America has been able to pursue war “with great generosity and a fine display
of the spirit of humanity.” This is a clear invocation of Wilsonian
idealism—the belief that America fights not for conquest, but for justice and
peace.
4. Prayer for Guidance and Justice
The proclamation closes with a prayer that reflects Wilson’s
Presbyterian upbringing and deeply moral worldview. He prays not just for
victory, but for service, constancy, and the eventual establishment of “liberty
and security and peace and the comradeship of a common justice” for all
nations.
5. Presidential Voice and National Unity
Stylistically, the proclamation is sweeping and solemn. It reflects
Wilson’s academic training and rhetorical polish, elevating Thanksgiving from a
domestic observance to a profound civic ritual that affirms America’s role as a
moral compass for the world.
Conclusion
Wilson’s 1917 Thanksgiving Proclamation stands as a defining
artifact of the American wartime conscience. It offers a theology of service
and sacrifice, recasts war as moral obligation, and calls the nation to
humility, purpose, and prayer. It is one of the most moving and rhetorically
sophisticated Thanksgiving proclamations in the presidential tradition. - Transcription and Analysis by ChatGPT
– OpenAI
Thanksgiving Proclamation
Woodrow Wilson 1920
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The season again approaches when it behooves us to turn from
the distractions and preoccupations of our daily life, that we may contemplate
the mercies which have been vouchsafed to us, and render heartfelt and
unfeigned thanks unto God for His manifold goodness.
This is an old observance of the American people, deeply
imbedded in our thought and habit. The burdens and the stresses of life have
their own insistence.
We have abundant cause for thanksgiving. The lesions of the
war are rapidly healing. The great army of freemen, which America sent to the
defense of Liberty, returning to the grateful embrace of the nation, has
resumed the useful pursuits of peace, as simply and as promptly as it rushed to
arms in obedience to the country’s call. The equal justice of our laws has
received steady vindication in the support of a law-abiding people against
various and sinister attacks, which have reflected only the baser agitations of
war, now happily passing.
In plenty, security and peace, our virtuous and self-reliant
people face the future, its duties and its opportunities. May we have vision to
discern our duties; the strength, both of hand and resolve, to discharge them;
and the soundness of heart to realize that the truest opportunities are those
of service.
In a spirit, then, of devotion and stewardship we should
give thanks in our hearts, and dedicate ourselves to the service of God’s
merciful and loving purposes to His children.
Wherefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States
of America, do hereby designate Thursday, the twenty-fifth day of November next
as a day of Thanksgiving and prayer, and I call upon my countrymen to cease
from their ordinary tasks and avocations upon that day, giving it up to the
remembrance of God and His blessings, and their dutiful and grateful
acknowledgment.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
DONE in the District of Columbia this twelfth day of
November, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, and of
the independence of the United States the one hundred and forty-fifth.
Analysis
President Woodrow Wilson’s final Thanksgiving proclamation
is imbued with solemnity, dignity, and a tone of relief. Delivered just months
before he would leave office in fragile health, this proclamation reflects a
nation healing from war and straining toward restoration—socially, politically,
and morally.
1. From War to Peace
Wilson expresses gratitude not only for abundance but for
the nation’s orderly transition from wartime to peacetime life. The
proclamation praises the American soldier’s return to “useful pursuits of
peace” and emphasizes “obedience to the country’s call”—a veiled affirmation of
the voluntary military tradition and civil duty.
2. Justice and Law
Wilson makes direct reference to “equal justice” and
“law-abiding people,” addressing social unrest and radicalism that flared
during and after the war. His language suggests both vindication of democratic
governance and a call for unity after division.
3. Idealism and Service
Wilson's theological and civic themes blend into a call for
“devotion and stewardship,” framing thanksgiving not as passive gratitude but
as a charge to renew moral commitment and serve “God’s merciful and loving
purposes.”
4. Watermark and Physical Significance
The faint Great Seal watermark authenticates the
broadside as an official executive issuance, likely part of a select group sent
to governors, embassies, or national archives. Its pristine preservation and 8
x 13 in. dimensions conform to the executive printing standards of the Wilson
administration’s later years.
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