What is this rolled up paper you have just found? This is about the history of Thanksgiving Day. Many people think Christmas is the oldest American holiday but it’s not. Christmas was illegal in New England for a long time. However, Thanksgiving existed long before the formation of our nation. Thanksgiving is the oldest American Holiday or Holy Day because it was Thanksgiving to God.

Long story short, in 2015 I became fed up with the one-sided, distorted news coming out of the Berkshire Eagle and decided to place an ad about The History of Thanksgiving. The ad included information about our Godly heritage which included quotes from our founders concerning our Christian foundation, guns, borders, morality being necessary to remain free, etc. The Berkshire Eagle said that they disagreed with the ad. I asked them what specifically they disagreed with. They replied that they disagreed with it in its entirety. Did they disagree with our history? I proved the history.  Did they disagree with our Christian foundation? I don’t know, they would not say. I then realized that they were gatekeepers of a sort. They get to regulate what you get to see and hear. Why do they do this? To manipulate your world-view and your political views in order to herd you like cattle for election day.

Remember this Berkshire County, without counter thought in news, you will be lied to. It’s just human nature to embellish. Purity and neutrality seem non-existent qualities in today’s news reporting. When there is no counter thought, anything a talking head or newspaper says is believable. A framed story is believable. You’ll be lied to and you will believe the lies. Think of it this way… imagine a person that you believe and trust, lies to your face. Whether it’s a mistake or a deliberate lie, having no other information, you’ll trust what this trusted person says. Since you base your decisions on the truth, a liar has now taken away your free will. The institutions you trust have been giving you false information, omitting information, muddying information, or just focusing on the wrong information. Journalism is tainted. This is what keeps Massachusetts a blue state when the facts are evident: the democrat party is no longer the democrat party of the past. It stands for things that oppose God, morality, America. It is treasonous. Wide open borders is treason. The democrat party is debauched from head to toe. If counter thought was permitted, you’d get to the truth. However, most people in New England prefer to live in an echo chamber.

The gatekeepers decide what you get to see and hear (what stories they cover or omit), how you hear it (focus on negatives or positives depending how they want to steer you), and they spin it to help you draw the same conclusion. It’s called “the power of the printed page.” If it’s in print, you tend to believe it and be swayed by it. It works. Massachusetts, Pittsfield is a blue state not because you’re enlightened or moral (God knows it’s not morality!) or that your vision is correct. It’s a blue state because you’re being herded like cattle for election day…by the gatekeepers, by the News Companies! Some basic morality might have saved you but your preachers and priests have failed to speak up. They too are complicit.

Since 2015, each year, the day before Thanksgiving, I randomly disperse some of these papers simply because I was denied way back in 2015. It contains information about the history of Thanksgiving Day. However, I’d like to opine on a few local and national matters first.  

Pittsfield & Taxes: THEY’LL THROW YOU OUT OF YOUR HOME/BUSINESS IF YOU CAN’T PAY and it’s immoral

Remember a year ago, Marchetti and the City Council said that we needed to pay for trash removal or they would have to raise property taxes? Paying for trash removal is another hidden tax. With all the taxes this city steals from people, trash removal has always been included. Now we pay for it. I knew instantly they would raise the taxes the following year. And guess what just happened? The city just raised property taxes again. The sewer tax goes up and up each year. Pittsfield is 225 million in debt and the people being elected may be nice people (or maybe not—I do not know), but they do not have the skill set to run the city. They kick the can down the road by raising taxes and selling out the city to DEI causes in order to get money from the State…given to it under Biden. The increased low-cost housing and implementing DEI into the city was done for money. Many poor are being pumped into the city for these low-cost housing and DEI handouts. But these new residents, having nothing, will vote for candidates who continue the handouts. My point, when homeowners finally have had enough and want to elect a fiscal conservative into office, you won’t be able to. Just like businesses are leaving. Unless major changes are made on how the city makes money, there will come a day when homeowners will leave. The city of Pittsfield is not your friend: they will put people out of their homes and businesses for non-payment of these made up, immoral, excessive taxes. At what point do home owners pack up and leave? Many older folks work a lifetime and retire, living out their days in their homes… only to be kicked out for nonpayment of taxes. I don’t see pensions going up to meet the tax increases! Big businesses are buying out rental units and jacking the price because, thanks to subsidization by the state for illegals, they can get that kind of increased profit from renters.

Businesses are leaving. Staples left. JoAnn’s Left. Quite a few left. FedEx just left. A city without a FedEx. Yikes! Some stores with multiple locations just cut down on their number of locations. Example, TD Bank closing their West Street location and others. It’s a vicious loop: high taxes → businesses leave or never come → fewer jobs → more people leave → even less customer base → more businesses leave. Want to see the desperation? Yes, the garbage tax is one but consider that they tax the number of toilets you have and then tax the sewer by the number of toilets! It’s clear desperation! It would be more honest if they came to us with guns drawn, and just robbed us.  Having more than one toilet in the house does not mean you’re going to the bathroom more! You may sleep on the second floor. The toilet on the second floor is for convenience. Do if you wake in the middle of the night, do you want to go down a flight of stairs to use the first-floor toilet? Or if you’re watching TV on the first floor, do you want to walk up the stairs to use the second-floor toilet? But the city taxes each toilet and then multiplies your one sewer line by the number of toilets you have. See the immorality of it? The city needs to stop spending money foolishly. It spends money foolishly! They steal from you and continue to spend money foolishly…and give out raises too! I can tell you, our founders never would have approved of such abuses. It’s these kinds of abuses that lead to increases in pricing which led to Mandami winning NYC. They do not have the skill set to create an environment that thrives and so, have become predatorial which is just kicking the can down the road. Perpetually raising taxes is just the lazy, failed way of running the city. We can train a monkey to do that. Ring a bell, the monkey raises the taxes, you give the monkey a banana. And you may not know this because the Berkshire Eagle stops counter thought. And if you think it won’t get too crazy, remember what just happened in Lenox: property taxes are going up 15.4%!! Citizens of Lenox need to start buying pitch forks and torches. People will be forced out of their homes cause of that kind of stupidity. Our city copied the trash tax from neighboring towns! They will surely raise taxes to absurd levels if you let them stay in power.

The solution? Pray. If a fiscal conservative with experience runs for office, elect him while you still can!
We need to temporarily stop the city government and let a seasoned team of fiscally conservative business people take over the city to create the environment for growth…so the city doesn’t prey on its own citizens. Limit government while you still can. You can blame the insanity on failed reporting. If articles were critical, you’d know to vote sanity into office. Failed reporting is what got you Neal, Warren, Bouvier, Marchetti, Markey, Healey. Think of it, Warren campaigned with Mandami to win NYC. She is another one that became a multi-millionaire in public office! How’s that happen? Crookery? This state is 120 billion in debt. Pittsfield, as of late 2025, the city's outstanding debt totals approximately $225 million, making it the highest in Berkshire County. They kick the can down the road to stay in office which means, the underlying problems are not being solved…which pretty much guarantees tax hikes going forward. Get them voted out while you still can. The ship is taking on too much water. Titanic anyone?

ILLEGALS DRIVES UP THE COST OF HOUSING, COSTS TAX PAYERS 154 BILLION A YEAR

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said that Massachusetts would not cooperate with President-elect Trump's mass deportation plans. 21 million people came across our borders illegally. Laws were broken by the Biden administration and democrat states to allow this to happen. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 (as amended, especially 8 U.S.C. § 1325 - Improper Entry by Alien). It is a crime to enter the US without inspection. They are to be removed. Repeat is a felony. INA Section 287(g) (8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) - State/Local Cooperation with Federal Enforcement). Sanctuary cities are illegal. DHS is to deputize local law enforcement to enforce this. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 (8 U.S.C. § 1227 - Deportable Aliens). Mandates expedited removal for recent unlawful entrants, bars reentry for 3-10 years. Secure Fence Act of 2006 (and subsequent border security laws, e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1103 - Border Infrastructure) Mandates physical barriers, tech and 18,000 plus border patrol agents for border control. Ant deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. § 1341) and Impoundment Control Act (1974) Illegal for Biden to refuse the spend congressionally appropriated funds on the border. Biden (or whomever was controlling Biden’s auto pen) broke the law in impounding 1.4 billion in border wall funds and using the money elsewhere. Then sold off the wall materials for pennies on the dollar.

21 million illegals came over because democrats broke the laws they swore to uphold! They took an oath before God and man and the oath meant nothing. They also have zero understanding as to why illegal entry is dangerous to freedom. Our founders knew because they knew how precious freedom is and understood threats to freedom. Here is a quote or two from Alexander Hamilton on immigration:

 "To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the moment they put foot upon our shore would be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty." The Examination No. VII (January 7, 1802)

"It is unlikely that they will bring with them that temperate love of liberty so essential to real republicanism. In proportion as they are more or less attached to the country they left, they will be more or less attached to their new country... The safety of a republic depends essentially on the energy of a common national sentiment; on a uniformity of principles and habits; on the exemption of the citizens from foreign bias, and prejudice; and on that love of country which will almost invariably be found wanting in men who are every day migrating from one country to another." The Examination No. VIII (January 12, 1802)

Jefferson wanted America to be an asylum for the oppressed but warned that assimilation was necessary. He spoke of “digesting what we have.”

Letter to James Monroe (June 1824): “The mass of foreigners… would bring with them the spirit of subordination and the habits of monarchy… I think it would be better to pause until we have digested what we have.” • Letter to William Carmichael (1792, but echoed later): Preferred “to select the most virtuous and useful” rather than open the doors indiscriminately.

Jefferson said that new arrivals must be dispersed and assimilated quickly; he opposed ethnic enclaves. It is those enclaves (territories) that gave Mandami a win in NYC and is turning Dearborn Michigan into an Islamic enclave… trying to pass Sharia Law!! Think of it, years ago, Islamists took down the two towers. Now, an Islamist sits at the top of the biggest financial capital of the world. Will he take down more towers? To win, he focused on immigrants that make up half the city…offering everything free or state controlled. He’s a communist but thanks to Bernie Sanders, learned that it is safer to call himself a “democratic socialist.” He bought the vote from people who don’t know or care about America!  Thank open borders and poor leadership, immigrants running to become mayors or other political positions are waiving the flags of other countries! Have you seen the illegal immigrants waving the flags of other countries? Consider why our founders have a naturalization act and requirements and why the oath they swear says the following:

Current Oath of Allegiance (exact wording you will say)“I hereby declare, on oath,
that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

Have you heard this counter thought in the news reporting? Am I giving you truth you do not find in The Berkshire Eagle or the news in New England? If you disagree with me, did you know all of this information? Why didn’t you know it?
1. Democrat leadership opened borders for votes. Illegal immigrants will vote for money over America.
2. Democrat leadership broke laws to allow illegals. They broke their oath made before God Almighty and to the American people.
3. Democrats ignore our history and the wisdom of our founders concerning open borders because they do not respect our founders!
4. We have enemies that came through the borders. Americans have been killed by illegals. It costs 154 billion a year to give handouts to these illegals. And democrats are trying to steal that money from all of us in the bills they pass!
5. New diseases have entered our country because of wide open borders. The mumps (252 cases), Heptatitis A (486 cases), Turberculosis (9615 cases), measles (285 cases), etc. Illegal immigration brought by Mexicans smuggling infected cattle northward, bypassing controls, infected cattle and in so doing are driving up beef prices by 12% nationwide. Any of this mentioned in the news in New England?
6. Illegals are driving up the price of housing. See the paper lately? That much they did report. Here in Pittsfield, seniors have lost their housing because of state subsidization of illegals. Did you see the story of the man who lived in his apartment (here in Pittsfield) for 20+ years only to be kicked out? The illegal was able to pay 1000.00 more per month because of state subsidization. The landlord made the decision. Remember, the city, state and Fed hack away at landlords and the landlord needs to make more money. Big businesses are buying out rental properties because much more rent can be made thanks to the state helping illegals find housing. The cost of housing has skyrocketed because of democrats putting votes above Americans. But those same democrats get elected by selling votes (hand outs)… only now to illegals first!

Okay, thank you for listening. Now, let’s get to Thanksgiving. The oldest American Holiday.

If you don’t know the full story of the first Thanksgiving, wow, it’s a complete miracle. Anyone who tells you that our nation was not founded by God, for Christians, does not know our history. The Pilgrims were Protestants that were being persecuted by the Church of England. The persecution was severe causing the Pilgrims to set sail in the Mayflower for America on September 6, 1620 to escape religious persecution. They landed in what we now call Massachusetts. On November 11, 1620, they finally dropped anchor and came ashore. Unprepared for the harsh New England winter, nearly half of them died before Spring.

Patuxet was an Indian village where an Indian boy named Squanto was kidnapped by sailors, then brought to Spain where he was sold as a slave. Monks purchased him and treated him well, taught him their language and about Christ Jesus. They loved Squanto and knew he was homesick. The monks came up with a plan to get Squanto back home but it involved taking merchant ships. Squanto was with the monks for five years. The plan was for Squanto to go to London, where he would reside with a merchant named John Slanie. John would get him on a merchant ship when one became available. John warned Squanto that it would take a long time for a ship to become available. In the meantime, Squanto would reside with John and his family. John said to Squanto: we will teach you our language and our ways. Perhaps you will be able to pay your passage back to America by working as a translator on one of the trading ships.

Five years later, in the year 1618, a ship was found and Squanto boarded the ship, on his way back home. After a stop in Newfoundland, waiting for spring, they finished the trip and Squanto was home—only to find his village, Patuxet, completely empty. There as not a soul to be seen. He walked to a neighboring village and learned the news: a terrible illness had struck and his entire village had become sick and died. Squanto was literally the last survivor of his people. A nearby village took him in.

Back to the Pilgrims. When the Pilgrims came ashore, about a month later, they found a village already carved out for them, the work had already been done! It was Patuxet! Which they now named Plymouth, in honor of the town in England where they once lived. The fact that Patuxet was deserted and had excellent cleared farmland, a good harbor, and a brook for fresh water is why they ultimately chose it— they knew it was a miracle or providence that the land was ready for them, unaware that it had been a thriving Wampanoag village just a few years earlier.

However, they did not have time to build proper shelters and they emerged from winter that claimed many lives. Nearly half of their people died. Only fifty-three Pilgrims remained. One day, the Pilgrims were surprised when an Indian named Samoset approached them and spoke English! Samoset, from yet another village, went to find Squanto and told him that the year before, a shipload of families had come and settled in Patuxet—in the very place Quanto had lived as a boy. Squanto agreed to see them.

The Pilgrims were speechless when they met Squanto, who spoke perfect English and told them his story. Knowing their bibles, the Pilgrims quickly realized that this was the story of Joseph. God saved many from starving when Joseph was sold as a slave but wound in a position of power to save his people. Squanto too was sold as a slave, suffered much, but now in position to save these Pilgrims. What man meant for evil, God meant for good. Squanto spent the last two years of his life, enabling the pilgrims to survive. He would die two years later at the age of 37. After all he went through, he chose to spend the last two years of his life teaching strangers how to survive in this new land. Why? Because he too saw God’s hand of providence.

When autumn came, the Pilgrims set aside a time to thank God for His merciful blessings. They invited Squanto and other braves from Samoset’s tribe to join them. Ninety warriors came, bringing deer, wild turkeys, vegetables, corn. It was a great feast. Governor Bradford said the prayer, thanking The Lord for sending Squanto in a time of great need.

Ninety Wampanoag joined the fifty-three surviving Pilgrims for three days of feasting on shellfish, lobster, turkey, venison, cornbread, berries, and other seasonal foods; athletic contests in which young men raced and wrestled while their elders competed in shooting matches; and heartfelt prayer and thanksgiving for God’s providence in sustaining them through hardship.

America was born of God. The Pilgrims never would have made it without God’s divine intervention. Yet, many died and suffered greatly but still gave thanks to God! Think of it: The Pilgrims find a village prepared for them and empty! Then, an Indian, raised as a Christian, speaking perfect English is touched by their sorrows and agrees to teach them how to survive and helps them make peace with the Indians!  

Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to live in the New World. He and Samoset helped forge a peace treaty that lasted for generations between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford described Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for [our] good.”

The tradition of Thanksgiving as a time of focus on God and His blessings was introduced by European Americans and dates back over four centuries in America. For example, thanksgivings occurred in: 1541 at Palo Duro Canyon, Texas with Coronado and 1,500 of his men,1565 at St. Augustine, Florida with French Huguenot (Protestant) colonists, 1598 at El Paso, Texas with Juan de Oñate and his expedition,1607 at Cape Henry, Virginia with the landing of the Jamestown settlers,1619 at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. There were many Thanksgiving Day proclamations, by the states, before it was made an official national holiday as we know it today. It was the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving celebration of 1621 from which we derive the current tradition of Thanksgiving Day.

It was Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale who persistently campaigned (for two decades) for an established national Thanksgiving, just as they celebrated the Fourth of July. She wrote to President Lincoln and it was Lincoln that made that official Proclamation. He responded to her persistence in 1863, setting aside the last Thursday of that November for Thanksgiving Day. This was Lincoln’s proclamation:

“In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict.”

In that proclamation, President Lincoln also noted that:

“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. . . . No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, Who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

For the next seventy-five years following Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, presidents faithfully followed Lincoln’s precedent, declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. But the dates varied greatly from proclamation to proclamation. It was in 1933 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the precedent of celebrating Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of each November. In 1941, Congress permanently established that day as the national Thanksgiving holiday.

Ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the fifty Pilgrims for these three days of feasting, play, and prayer. Pilgrim Edward Winslow (later governor of Plymouth), wrote about this time:

    [O]ur harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want.

Historian Benson Lossing later recounted:

[T]he Pilgrims at Plymouth rejoiced in an abundance of food in the autumn of 1621, the first year of their settlement. Thereby their hearts were filled with gratitude, and after the fruits of their labors had all been gathered, the governor sent out huntsmen to bring in supplies for a general and common thanksgiving. That was the first celebration of the great New England festival of Thanksgiving, now annually held in almost every State and Territory of the Union in the month of November. Great quantities of wild turkeys and deer were gathered at Plymouth, and for three days the Pilgrims indulged in rejoicing, firing of guns, and feasting – entertaining, at the same time, King Massasoit and ninety of his dusky followers, who contributed five deer to the banquets. Seven substantial houses had been built during the summer; the inhabitants were in good health; a few emigrants from England had come in a second ship, and there were happy homes in the wilderness the ensuing winter.

Continental Congress (October 18, 1780) issued a Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer after the revealing and deliverance from Benedict Arnold's plot to betray General George Washington and his troops to the British: “Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, amidst the vicissitudes and calamities of war, to bestow blessings on the people of these states, which call for their devout and thankful acknowledgements, more especially in the late remarkable interposition of his watchful providence, in the rescuing the person of our Commander-in-Chief and the army from imminent dangers, at the moment when treason was ripened for execution....It is therefore recommended to the several states...a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, that all the people may assemble on that day to celebrate the praises of our Divine Benefactor; to confess our unworthiness of the least of his favours, and to offer our fervent supplications to the God of all grace...to cause the knowledge of Christianity to spread over all the earth.”

Congress] recommended [a day of] . . . thanksgiving and praise [so] that . . . the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and . . . join . . . their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive [our sins] and . . . [to] enlarge [His] kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Continental Congress, 1777 – written by SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION SAMUEL ADAMS AND RICHARD HENRY LEE

[I] appoint . . . a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God . . . to [ask] Him that He would . . . pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel; that He would . . . spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; . . . and that He would establish these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue. GOVERNOR THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1779

[I] appoint . . . a day of public thanksgiving and praise . . . to render to God the tribute of praise for His unmerited goodness towards us . . . [by giving to] us . . . the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten and make us wise to eternal salvation. And [to] present our supplications…that He would forgive our manifold sins and . . . cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the inhabitants of the earth. GOVERNOR JOHN HANCOCK, 1790

As it hath pleased Almighty God to continue to the people of this Commonwealth great and unmerited Favors in the course of the year past; it is highly becoming, that after the example of our pious and renowned ancestors, a day should be set apart, at this season of the year, for the special purpose of rendering to the Father of all mercies the just tribute of gratitude and praise. GOVERNOR SAMUEL ADAMS, 1794

Massachusetts (November 8, 1783), issued A Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, signed by Governor John Hancock, to celebrate the victorious conclusion of the Revolutionary War: John Hancock, Esquire, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts A Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving: “Whereas...these United States are not only happily rescued from the Danger and Calamities to which they have been so long exposed, but their Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence ultimately acknowledged. And whereas...the Interposition of Divine Providence in our Favor hath been most abundantly and most graciously manifested, and the Citizens of these United States have every Reason for Praise and Gratitude to the God of their salvation. Impressed therefore with an exalted Sense of the Blessings by which we are surrounded, and of our entire Dependence on that Almighty Being from whose Goodness and Bounty they are derived; I do by and with the Advice of the Council appoint Thursday the Eleventh Day of December next (the Day recommended by the Congress to all the States) to be religiously observed as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, that all the People may then assemble to celebrate...that he hath been pleased to continue to us the Light of the Blessed Gospel....That we also offer up fervent Supplications...to cause pure Religion and Virtue to flourish...and to fill the World with His glory.”

In 1875, President Andrew Johnson stated: “Men who see not God in our history have surely lost sight of the fact that, from the landing of the Mayflower to this hour, the great men whose names are indissolubly associated with the colonization, rise, and progress of the Republic have borne testimony to the vital truths of Christianity.”

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” President John Adams to the officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts

Roger Sherman supported the act of Congress authorizing President Washington to officially declare a national Thanksgiving Day holiday. His remarks were recorded in the Journals of Congress: “Mr. Sherman justified the practice of thanksgiving, on any signal event, not only as a laudable one in itself, but as warranted by a number of precedents in Holy Writ: for instance, the solemn thanksgivings and rejoicings which took place in the time of Solomon, after the building of the temple, was a case in point. This example, he thought, worthy of Christian imitation on the present occasion.”