Words From Our Founders: John Hancock’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Words From Our Founders,

Today we continue our Words From Our Founders series examining our Founding Fathers’ words on religion, religious liberty, and morality.

Below is a Thanksgiving proclamation issued by John Hancock on October 5, 1791, when he was Governor of Massachusetts. A little-known fact about Hancock: In June, 1775, General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in Massachusetts at the outset of the American Revolution, issued a proclamation promising to pardon every American who laid down their arms against the British Empire–except two: Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The following year both men signed the Declaration of Independence.

Hancock’s proclamation follows.

In consideration of the many undeserved Blessings conferred upon us by GOD, the Father of all Mercies; it becomes us not only in our private and usual devotion, to express our obligations to Him, as well as our dependence upon Him; but also specially to set a part a Day to be employed for this great and important Purpose:

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Is It the End of Thanksgiving as We Know It?

1 CommentThanksgiving,

Some of us are old enough to remember a time when people got off work for Washington’s Birthday—the holiday we now call Presidents’ Day.

Up until the 1980s, many businesses closed for Washington’s Birthday. It was a lot like Labor Day or Memorial Day, in that respect. So what changed?

There were a lot of factors, but one theory is in the 1980s, stores began staying open on Presidents’ Day to offer big sales and attract shoppers. As stores stayed open, other businesses had reason to do so as well. As a result, Presidents’ Day is a lot like Columbus Day: The banks and Post Office close; stores offer big sales; but that’s about the extent of the holiday. So I have to ask: Could the same thing happen to Thanksgiving?

This year stores like Kmart are staying open all day on Thanksgiving. Walmart will unveil its Black Friday sales Thursday, letting shoppers peruse their shelves Thanksgiving night and on into Friday morning. Best Buy, Target, J.C. Penny, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Sears, Toys R Us, and others plan to do the same.

Some people say as the economy rebounds, stores may not make a habit of opening on Thanksgiving in the future. I doubt it.

If more stores open on Thanksgiving, other businesses will likely find reason to follow suit. It happened with George Washington’s Birthday; there’s no reason to think Thanksgiving is too sacred for the same to happen to it.

I imagine people will always pause to eat turkey together the last weekend of November, but it bothers me that what was intended to be a day spent with family, giving thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy might devolve into nothing more than “Black Friday Eve.”

I’ve never seen a Norman Rockwell painting of a family spending Thanksgiving in the checkout line of a big-box store. This week, I hope you and your family will take a break from the hustle and bustle to enjoy quality time together.

Whether it’s playing football in the backyard or listing your blessings around the dinner table, take a few hours to celebrate and have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Ark. Supreme Court Ruling Undermines Marriage, Child Welfare

Family, Marriage,

The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday overturning a lower court’s child custody order that prohibited an Arkansas man from having overnight visitation at home with his son while the man’s live-in boyfriend was in the home.

Up until now, child custody rulings have typically favored married couples over cohabiting couples, because transient boarders in a home can pose an unknown risk to child welfare, and because research demonstrates time and time again that the most stable environment for a child is with a married mom and dad. This court ruling undermines what we know to be good policy for the children of Arkansas. In effect, it says whether a parent is married or not is irrelevant to the child. That’s utter nonsense.

Some people say these situations need to be examined on a case-by-case basis. The fact is when it comes to child custody as well as adoption and foster care, the State of Arkansas has a number of ‘blanket rules’ it uses. These rules are based on what the state believes will contribute the most to child welfare. If we know children fair better in one type of home as opposed to another, why would we put them in anything less than the best home possible?

The Arkansas Supreme Court has effectively said that marriage doesn’t matter, and the real victims are the innocent children caught in the middle of custody disputes.

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