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" Sarah Hale was every inch a superhero. Not only did she fight for Thanksgiving, she fought for playgrounds for kids, schools for girls, and historical monuments for everyone.
She argued against spanking, pie for breakfast, dull stories, corsets and bloomers and bustles, and very serious things like slavery.
As if that weren’t enough, she raised five children; wrote poetry, children’s books, novels, and biographies; was the first female magazine editor in America; published great American authors like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edgar Allan Poe; and composed “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
How did she do all of these things?
She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart. And Sarah Hale had a secret weapon…
a pen. "
― Laurie Halse Anderson , Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
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" How did she do all of these things?
She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart. And Sarah Hale had a secret weapon…
a pen.
When Sarah saw something she didn’t like, she picked up her pen and wrote about it. She wrote letters. She wrote articles. She wrote and wrote and wrote until she persuaded people to make the world a better place.
Nothing stopped Sarah.
Sarah Hale loved Thanksgiving. She wanted the whole country to celebrate it on the same day. When folks started to ignore Thanksgiving, well, that just curdled her gray.
She picked up her pen.
Sarah wrote letters, thousands of letters, asking politicians to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. She wrote magazine articles asking her readers for help.
The women of America listened. They put down their babies, their hoes, their skillets, and their washing. They picked up their pens and wrote.
When the letters arrived, the politicians listened, too. One by one, the states officially made Thanksgiving a holiday. But that wasn’t good enough. Sarah Hale wanted the whole country to celebrate together, like a family.
She went to the top. "
― Laurie Halse Anderson , Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
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" Sarah wrote to the president himself, Zachary Taylor. He refused. Did that stop Sarah? No! She waited for the next election and wrote to the new president, Millard Fillmore. He said no, too.
Did that stop Sarah? No! She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart. Sarah wrote to the next president, Franklin Pierce. Wouldn’t a national day of thanksgiving be wonderful?
No, Pierce grumped.
Sarah penned an elegant letter to President James Buchanan. She gave all the reasons why America would be better off if everyone gathered on the fourth Thursday in November to give thanks.
President Buchanan disagreed.
He had other things on his mind.
Sarah felt like the stuffing had been kicked out of her. Everything was going wrong.
America was at war, the North against the South. States that had promised to celebrate Thanksgiving changed their mind. The country was falling apart. It was a bleak and scary time.
Did that stop Sarah?
No way! Nothing stopped Sarah!
Superheroes work the hardest when things get tough.
She picked up her mighty pen and wrote another letter, this time to President Abraham Lincoln. America needed Thanksgiving, now more than ever. A holiday wouldn’t stop the war, but it could help bring the country together. She signed the letter, folded it, and slid it into an envelope. She wrote Mr. Lincoln’s name and address on the envelope and stuck on a stamp. She mailed the letter.
She waited.
And she waited.
And then…
LINCOLN SAID YES!
LINCOLN SAID YES! "
― Laurie Halse Anderson , Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
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" She picked up her mighty pen and wrote another letter, this time to President Abraham Lincoln. America needed Thanksgiving, now more than ever. A holiday wouldn’t stop the war, but it could help bring the country together. She signed the letter, folded it, and slid it into an envelope. She wrote Mr. Lincoln’s name and address on the envelope and stuck on a stamp. She mailed the letter.
She waited.
And she waited.
And then…
LINCOLN SAID YES!
LINCOLN SAID YES!
In 1863 President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday--a day for all Americans to give thanks, together. It took Sarah Hale thirty-eight years, thousands of letters, and countless bottles of ink, but she did it. Nothing stopped Sarah. That bold, brave, stubborn, and smart lady saved Thanksgiving…for all of us.
THANK YOU, SARAH! "
― Laurie Halse Anderson , Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
9
" You think you know everything about Thanksgiving, don’t you? …How the Native Americans saved the Pilgrims from starving…
How the Pilgrims held a big feast to celebrate and say thank you: turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberries--the works.
Well, listen up. I have a news flash…
WE ALMOST LOST…THANKSGIVING!
Didn’t know that, did you? It’s true. Way, way back, when skirts were long and hats were tall, Thanksgiving was fading away. Sure, the folks up in New England celebrated it. They’d roast a turkey and invite the relatives when the harvest came in. But not in the South, not in the West, not even in the Middle Atlantic states. More and more, people ignored the holiday.
Thanksgiving was in trouble. It needed…
A SUPERHERO! "
― Laurie Halse Anderson , Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
