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While this year’s Thanksgiving holiday may be different in size and splendor for many of us, this uniquely American celebration will remain an important opportunity to reflect upon our many blessings.
Please enjoy a special video conversation with Hudson Senior Fellow Melanie Kirkpatrick, author of Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience. Melanie was joined by Hudson's Chief Operating Officer, John Walters, to discuss the role of past presidents in shaping the Thanksgiving holiday at key points in American history.
As we reflect on our gratitude at Hudson, we are thankful for your involvement, support, and help making our work possible each day.
Go Deeper: Why We Celebrate
After the Election, a Thanksgiving to Unite Us
Initially written after the 2016 elections, Melanie Kirkpatrick explores the significance of Thanksgiving in a time of political division. Benjamin Franklin called Thanksgiving a day of “public Felicity” to give thanks for our “full enjoyment of Liberty, civil and religious.” As Kirkpatrick notes, Thanksgiving, our nation’s oldest tradition, is a moment to focus on our blessings as Americans, on what unites us, not on what divides us.
Lincoln and Thanksgiving:
The Origin of an American Holiday
The very first Thanksgiving happened almost 400 years ago—long before the nation was born. How did it evolve into America’s quintessential national holiday? Credit largely goes to two people—one, a name you know; the other, you’ve probably never heard—but should. In this PragerU video, Melanie Kirkpatrick explains how a harvest party between Pilgrims and Indians became America's oldest national tradition.
The Changing Ways We Give Thanks
As the United States has changed, the ways in which we celebrate Thanksgiving has changed as well. Melanie Kirkpatrick joined The Realignment podcast to talk about why Thanksgiving is a uniquely American tradition.
