While the origins of Thanksgiving are disputed, there is no question that author and publisher Sarah Hale established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the U.S.

Author of the rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and editor of “Godey’s Lady’s Book,” Hale wrote numerous letters and editorials over the span of 40 years promoting a National Thanksgiving so that "the permanency and unity of our Great American Festival of Thanksgiving would be forever secured.”

Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan all refused her plea.

In an 1859 editorial, as relations between the North and South were reaching a breaking point, Hale argued that a united day of Thanksgiving would help bring the country together: “There is a deep moral influence in these periodical seasons of rejoicing in which whole communities participate. They bring out …the best sympathies in our natures.”

In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln heeded Hale's request and proclaimed the permanent establishment of a national day of Thanksgiving.