The morning news., 1894-11-25
GEORGE WASHIyGTOyS SWORE
History Of the First Observance Of Our
National Holiday.
An Hitherto Unpublished story-Whet
the Hamilton Letters Reveal - A
Broken Nose and an Oath Caused the
Turkey to Become a Thanksgiving

lCopyright)
The first national Thanksgiving day ever
observed in the United States of America
owes its historical interest mainly to one
broken nose and an oath. To the oath we
owe the supremacy Of the turkey as our
national feast day bird and to the broken
nose we owe the only evidence that has
come down to us that George Washington
ever swore. Yet all these important things
are collateral TO the main fact that we
narrowly escaped losing Thanksgiving aft
er al and that all the famed men of that
day got into a bitter quarrel over it and
ate "a turkey dinner at daggers drawn. so
TO speak.
The idea Of having such a holiday at all
originated in the fertile brain of AIexan-
der Hamilton Hamilton was then Secreta-
ry of the Treasury and in August of 1879
he broached the matter at one of the meet
inEs Of President WashingtOn's cabinet.
TT his much we know from the correspond
enCe of Gen. Knox. and In spite Of the his
torical interest attending a most unique
episode i'm our history, the whole matter is
involved i'm more or less obscurity and the
worn old tones that tell it all lie in dusty
hooks ON library shelves. The late Gen.
Hamilton, whose death so recently through
many notable New York families into
mourning. had a very fun collection Of the
correspondence bearing upon the Celebra-
ton of this republics first Thanksgiving.
To be sure there had been Thank sgivings
i'm this country from time immemorial be-
fore our government was born, but the
nrst celebration of a genuinely national
character was the one appointed by George
Washington of glorious memory. This cor
respondenee is now in the possession Of the
Schuyler Hamiltons and is authority for a
vast amount Of hitherto unpublished his
tory
II was i'm September of 1883 that the mat
ter was brought to the attention of CON
gress. Representative Boudinot of New
England moved that in view of the bles-
sings so abundantiy bestowed on the coun-
try by the Almighty day Of Thanksgiv-
ins be set apart by the President The
resolution was supported by Representa-
tive Sherman of Connecticut but il
aroused violent opposition. Many mem
bers Of congress denounced the PROPOSE
tlon as effete and mOnarChical and we
have the authority of Representative
Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania. for the
statement that some members grew so
personal in their discussions Of the mat
ter that blows were exchanged on the
streets Of New York. It appears from the
Hamilton letters. and the fact will certain
" surprise the historians, that Jefferson
anu AldlllllDu liIlIneUlatElN u1fTeTe0
to the desirability of the holiday Jeffer-
son, as appears from his letters was op-
posed TO the idea, because it seemed un-
democratic. He was then, ofcourse, fresh
from his long residence in free-thinking
France and at the very elimination of
his skeptical progression. Anything that
saVored OF prayer and church observance
in the government was opposed to his
extreme views in the matter of separa-
tion of church and state. He expressed
these views Of his with moderation and
good sense in a concise letter, for he had
as yet hardly assumed the reins Of office.
Unfortunately, the letter which Washing
ton had addressed to Alexander Hamilton
on the subject appears to be lost. 1t is
not among the newly discovered papers of
the Hamilton family and viii in all prob
ability never be discovered
However the resolution went through
congress ana Washington duly appoint
ed the last Thursday of November, 1889
as the first of one long line of national
Thanksgivings. Immediately another ac-
rimOnious contest was begun. How was
The day to be observed? 1t was proposed
to have a monster procession of dig
nitaries, headed by Washington himself
on horseback. Jefferson's opposition to
anything of the kind, as his letters show,
effectively prevented such spectacular per
ambUlation. 1t was finally determined
that the day was a domestic holiday and
should be observed in the privacy of the
home after the good cid New England
manner This much we know from John
Adams, the Vice President, who came
from Massachusetts,, the mother of
/ Thanksgiving.
/ This settlement of the controversy was
/ most gratifying TO Mrs, Washington, who
at once made arrangements to hold a
+ levee IN true colonial fashion in the presi-
Dental mansion. Every one of promi-
. uenCe in the new government was asked
from Chief Justice John Jay down. And
/ they all came, too, for George Washing
/ ton was a gentleman, and to be asked
. to his house was a social distinction
. apart from the fact that he was Presi-
. dent of the United States.
Now iJ seems that Alexander Hamilton
. eager to do anything calculated to put
I Thomas Jefferson to confusion, had been
. organizing all manner of festivities and
. obserVances likely to make of Thanks
giving a noisy holiday. jefferson, on the
/ contrary. had held somewhat aloof from
the whole thing. for he took great pride
. in his superiority to all affairs of a religi-
GUS nature, and he looked upon Thanks
I giving as a religious Contrivance entirely
. The documentary evidence on this side
of the case is unhappily meager and we
I know only that by the time the day ar
rived there had been eugendcred much
. unpleasant feeling between the cabinet
factions, and this unpleasant feeling was
I communicated to the respective partsans
of the two cabinet leaders. The friends
of jefferson did what they dcceuty could
to ignore Thanks giving altogether. as
John Adams letters show very omphati-
cally. Hamiton's partisans, on the con-
trary. did all in their power to make the
day "a success. aud when the state OF
affairs was made known in Boston ana IN
Philadelphia, the battlc was heartily en-
tered into. Washington had the mortin-
.tr4tr a .1s