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Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience
272
by Melanie KirkpatrickMelanie Kirkpatrick
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Overview
We all know the story of Thanksgiving. Or do we? This uniquely American holiday has a rich and little known history beyond the famous feast of 1621.
In Thanksgiving, award-winning author Melanie Kirkpatrick journeys through four centuries of history, giving us a vivid portrait of our nation's best-loved holiday. Drawing on newspaper accounts, private correspondence, historical documents, and cookbooks, Thanksgiving brings to life the full history of the holiday and what it has meant to generations of Americans.
Many famous figures walk these pagesWashington, who proclaimed our first Thanksgiving as a nation amid controversy about his Constitutional power to do so; Lincoln, who wanted to heal a divided nation sick of war when he called for all AmericansNorth and Southto mark a Thanksgiving Day; FDR, who set off a debate on state's rights when he changed the traditional date of Thanksgiving.
Ordinary Americans also play key roles in the Thanksgiving storythe New England Indians who boycott Thanksgiving as a Day of Mourning; Sarah Josepha Hale, the nineteenth-century editor and feminist who successfully campaigned for Thanksgiving to be a national holiday; the 92nd Street Y in New York City, which founded Giving Tuesday, an online charity established in the long tradition of Thanksgiving generosity. Kirkpatrick also examines the history of Thanksgiving football and, of course, Thanksgiving dinner.
While the rites and rituals of the holiday have evolved over the centuries, its essence remains the same: family and friends feasting together in a spirit of gratitude to God, neighborliness, and hospitality. Thanksgiving is Americans' oldest tradition. Kirkpatrick's enlightening exploration offers a fascinating look at the meaning of the holiday that we gather together to celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November.
With Readings for Thanksgiving Day designed to be read aloud around the table.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781594038938 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Encounter Books |
Publication date: | 10/11/2016 |
Pages: | 272 |
Sales rank: | 410,708 |
Product dimensions: | 8.20(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
Melanie Kirkpatrick is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former deputy editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page. She is the author of Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad, which World Magazine named its 2013 Book of the Year. She has lived in Tokyo, Toronto, Hong Kong, Honolulu and Manhattan, and currently resides in rural Connecticut with her husband, Jack David.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Newcomers ix
Chapter 1 The First Thanksgiving 1
Chapter 2 Before the Pilgrims 21
Chapter 3 America Discovers the Pilgrims 41
Chapter 4 George Washington Sets the Stage 55
Chapter 5 Thanksgiving's Godmother 73
Chapter 6 The Turkey Bowl 91
Chapter 7 Happy Franksgiving 109
Chapter 8 Day of Mourning 127
Chapter 9 Helping Hands 143
Chapter 10 Turkey Day 161
Afterword: Five Kernels of Com 181
Readings for Thanksgiving Day 189
Thanksgiving Recipes and Bills of Fare 233
Acknowledgments 249
Notes 255
Index 267
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