Eight score, 1 year and 9 days ago, a brief message was delivered on a battlefield. There wasn’t much in the way of expectations. In fact, it almost didn’t happen. On the morning of November 19, 1863, roughly 15,000 people came to southern Pennsylvania, to a town called Gettysburg. They dedicated a national cemetery. Nobody expected the significance of the moment in American history.
President Lincoln was invited to share “a few appropriate remarks.” He wasn’t even the keynote that day. That was a man named Everett, who spoke for over 2 hours. Few people today talk about him. Our 16th President’s speech was less than 2 minutes. It was a mere 272 words. But those 100 seconds changed the course of our nation’s future. It definitely took a while for the significance of that speech to set in. The Gettysburg Address was immediately cast aside as a partisan Republican message, calling it “ludicrous” and “silly.” Time increasingly shed light on the brilliance of Lincoln’s message, marking it as perhaps the most important speech an American President has delivered.
Of course, the power and genius of the Gettysburg Address comes from its linkage of the sacrifice made by those Union soldiers with all those who would fall in future battles, to the promise of the revolutionary idea of America captured in the Declaration of Independence. It was the meaning of the American experiment. It also hinted at the consequence if it fails.
Abraham Lincoln called on the American people to dedicate themselves so that these United States, never more divided, “shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” It’s a timeless message from perhaps our greatest President, intentionally designed to survive the test of time.
These United States are considered young by every measure around the world. The roots run through Pennsylvania, under Independence Hall all the way up to a rock in Massachusetts. The Pilgrims first arrived in Plymouth in 1620, but they did not bring enough supplies. Half of the colony died that Winter, as it was too late in the year to plant crops. In the Spring of 1621, the local Native American Wampanoag tribe members taught the colonists how to grow corn and vegetables. That Fall, the colonists and the Wampanoags celebrated a 3-day harvest, which accounted for the first Thanksgiving. A tradition was born.
A month and a half before giving the Gettysburg address, President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of giving thanks to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26, 1863. That was in the middle of the Civil War. The holiday was honored by every President thereafter. Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday in November. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt attempted to extend the holiday shopping season with the goal of boosting economic activity by moving the date back to the third Thursday in November. Not all states complied. In 1942, Roosevelt issued a proclamation designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. That’s where it’s been ever since.
It’s the togetherness of our nation’s history that makes us special. Coming together for a greater cause. That was Lincoln’s message. The Wampanoag’s understood it. The Pilgrims cherished it and paid it forward in tradition. We can never get enough of it. Giving thanks to those you love, appreciate and respect is as important as anything. I’m thankful for all of those who lived and gave their lives for a better tomorrow. We have benefitted greatly.
I am thankful to you, for trusting us to help you and your family live your best lives. You are our why. We are partners in this Business of Life. You can count on us to be there for scores ahead.
Our office will be closed Thursday and Friday. We will be back, dark and early on Monday.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Mike
