Thanksgiving and Women's History

Thanksgiving Letter

Copy of a letter sent by Sarah Josepha Hale, magazine editor, to President Abraham Lincoln, credited with inspiring him to declare a national day of Thanksgiving.

Our National Thanksgiving

This 1858 magazine column written by Sarah Josepha Hale was part of Hale's campaign to get Thanksgiving accepted as a national holiday in the United States. It was first published in the women's magazine that Hale edited, "Godey's Lady's Book."

Over the River and Through the Wood: the Story of Lydia Maria Child

Story of the author of the 1844 poem, "A Boy's Thanksgiving." She is not well known today, but in her time, Lydia Maria Child was a well-known writer of novels, advice books, and anti-slavery tracts.

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

Louisa May Alcott wrote this short story on Thanksgiving. It was first published in 1881. The image shows a bit about how Thanksgiving was envisioned at the end of the 19th century.

A Boy's Thanksgiving Day

The long (12-verse version) of Lydia Maria Child's well-known Thanksgiving poem, known more commonly as "Over the River and Through the Wood."

A Boy's Thanksgiving Day

This one's the shorter version of Lydia Maria Child's poem that begins, "Over the river and through the wood."