[Rhodes22-list] Happy Thanksgiving!

[Caesar Paul]

Hi Brad,
 
Thanks for sharing that article with us.  
 
As has been mentioned in earlier post, there is a strong connection between beliefs and behaviour.  It appears that many of the founding fathers of this great nation had a strong belief in the God of the bible, and this foundational belief influenced the contents of the founding documents, and the firmness of their faith in the face of dire circumstances.
 
My cursory and sporadic reading of American history leads me to believe that the early colonists did enjoy great favor from God in the battle for Independence.  Could it be that the rise of America as perhaps the greatest nation on the planet is in part because so many of our core beliefs seems to have originated and or mirrors those found in the Bible?
 
The freedom of the individual to aspire and to achieve, and the freedom of thought and religion.
 
Allow me to share a song of thanksgiving found in the book that greatly impacted those early colonists:
 
1    Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2    Serve the LORD with gladness;
    Come before Him with joyful singing.
3    Know that the LORD Himself is God;
    It is He who has made us, and £not we ourselves;
    We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4    Enter His gates with thanksgiving
    And His courts with praise.
    Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5    For the LORD is good;
    His lovingkindness is everlasting
    And His faithfulness to all generations.
Thanks again for sharing a bit about the history of the first thanksgiving which reveals a bit about the beliefs and behaviours of the originators of our great nation.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Caesar Paul
Gentle Breeze Thu, 11/27/08, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Happy Thanksgiving!
To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Date: Thursday, November 27, 2008, 6:15 AM

And now, for the rest of the story -

'A Day of Thanksgiving'
The national holiday actually began at a dark hour during our war for
independence. Here's the story.

By IRA STOLL



When was the first Thanksgiving? Most of us think of the Pilgrims at
Plymouth in 1621. But if the question is about the first national
Thanksgiving holiday, the answer is that the tradition began at a
lesser-known moment in 1777 in York, Pa.

In July 1776, the American colonists declared independence from
Britain. The months that followed were so bleak that there was not
much to give thanks for. The Journals of the Continental Congress
record no Thanksgiving in that year, only two days of "solemn
fasting"
and prayer.

For much of 1777, the situation was not much better. British troops
controlled New York City. The Americans lost the strategic stronghold
of Fort Ticonderoga, in upstate New York, to the British in July. In
Delaware, on Sept. 11, troops led by Gen. George Washington lost the
Battle of Brandywine, in which 200 Americans were killed, 500 wounded
and 400 captured. In Pennsylvania, early in the morning of Sept. 21,
another 300 American soldiers were killed or wounded and 100 captured
in a British surprise attack that became known as the Paoli Massacre.

Philadelphia, America's largest city, fell on Sept. 26. Congress,
which had been meeting there, fled briefly to Lancaster, Pa., and then
to York, a hundred miles west of Philadelphia. One delegate to
Congress, John Adams of Massachusetts, wrote in his diary, "The
prospect is chilling, on every Side: Gloomy, dark, melancholy, and
dispiriting."

His cousin, Samuel Adams, gave the other delegates -- their number had
dwindled to a mere 20 from the 56 who had signed the Declaration of
Independence -- a talk of encouragement. He predicted, "Good tidings
will soon arrive. We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act
worthy of its aid and protection."

He turned out to have been correct, at least about the good tidings.
On Oct. 31, a messenger arrived with news of the American victory at
the Battle of Saratoga. The American general, Horatio Gates, had
accepted the surrender of 5,800 British soldiers, and with them 27
pieces of artillery and thousands of pieces of small arms and
ammunition.

Saratoga turned the tide of the war -- news of the victory was
decisive in bringing France into a full alliance with America.
Congress responded to the event by appointing a committee of three
that included Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia and Daniel
Roberdeau of Pennsylvania, to draft a report and resolution. The
report, adopted Nov. 1, declared Thursday, Dec. 18, as "a day of
Thanksgiving" to God, so that "with one heart and one voice the good
people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and
consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor."

It was the first of many Thanksgivings ordered up by Samuel Adams.
Though the holidays were almost always in November or December, the
exact dates varied. (Congress didn't fix Thanksgiving on the fourth
Thursday in November until 1941.)

In 1778, a Thanksgiving resolution drafted by Adams was approved by
Congress on Nov. 3, setting aside Wednesday, Dec. 30, as a day of
public thanksgiving and praise, "It having pleased Almighty God
through the Course of the present year, to bestow great and manifold
Mercies on the People of these United States."


After the Revolution, Adams, who was eventually elected governor of
Massachusetts, maintained the practice of declaring these holidays. In
October of 1795, the 73-year-old governor proclaimed Thursday, Nov.
19, as "a day of Public Thanksgiving to God," recommending that
prayer
be offered that God "would graciously be pleased to put an end to all
Tyranny and Usurpation, that the People who are under the Yoke of
Oppression, may be made free; and that the Nations who are contending
for freedom may still be secured by His Almighty Aid."

A year later, Gov. Adams offered a similar Thanksgiving proclamation,
declaring Thursday, Dec. 15, 1796, as "a Day of Public Thanksgiving
and Praise to Our Divine Benefactor." He recommended "earnest
Supplication to God" that "every Nation and Society of Men may be
inspired with the knowledge and feeling of their natural and just
rights" and "That Tyranny and Usurpation may everywhere come to an
end."

These statements were greeted with cynicism and derision by some of
Adams's younger political opponents, who saw them as archaic. One of
them, Christopher Gore, wrote a friend that it would be an occasion
for a real day of thanksgiving when Adams finally retired.

It turned out, though, that the ideas of thanking God for America's
blessings -- and of praying for the spread of freedom everywhere --
would long outlast Adams's career. The concepts still meet with
skepticism from time to time. But they are reason enough to pause
during tomorrow's football game or family feast and raise a glass to
the Founding Father who began our Thanksgiving tradition.

Mr. Stoll, formerly the managing editor of the New York Sun, is author
of "Samuel Adams: A Life," published this month by Free Press.



On Thu, Nov 27, 2008 at 7:22 AM, Arthur H. Czerwonky
<czerwonky at earthlink.net> wrote:
> All,
>
> I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, happy football, and a
delicious turkey dinner.  After four weeks teaching I am determined to get
sailing in St Pete.  We continue to build our fleet, so come on south if you get
frosted and we ought to be able to get you out on the bay.  If anyone is coming
to the show, newbie included, let me or Ron of Luis know.  It is a combined
Sail/Power edition, and suspect, but do not know, that Stan will be there. 
Anyone know?
>
> Best Holiday Wishes to you and yours,
>
> Art
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