Essays. Thanksgiving: history and observance -- Thanksgiving: holiday food from the 17th to the 21st centuries --

Primary sources -- The pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving -- The Mayflower Compact (1620) -- Pilgrim's Peace Treaty with Massasoit (1621) -- Edward Winslow's account of the first Thanksgiving (1622) -- William Bradford's account of the first Thanksgiving (1621) -- English colonists give thanks for victory in King Philip's War (1676) -- One of the oldest surviving printed Thanksgiving Proclamations (1723) -- Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher's Proclamation of a general fast ((1735) -- The Revolutionary period -- Continental Congress gives thanks during the Revolutionary War (1777) -- Arguments before Congress regarding a National Thanksgiving Holiday (1789) -- George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation for the United States (1789) -- Thomas Jefferson explains his opposition to a National Thanksgiving Holiday (1802) -- America embraces the pilgrims -- "The landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England" / poem, Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1826) -- Historian makes reference to the "First Thanksgiving" (1841) --

New England thanksgivings -- Harriet Beecher Stowe recalls a traditional New England Thanksgiving (1820s) -- "Come, ye thankful people, come" / hymn, Henry Alford (1844 -- "Over the river and through the wood" / poem, Lydia Maria Child (1845) -- "An old-fashioned Thanksgiving" / Louisa May Alcott (1881) -- "We gather together" / Thanksgiving hymn (1894) -- "The pumpkin" / poem, John Greenleaf Whitter (1898) -- "Thanksgiving at the polls" / Edward Everett Hale (1899) -- "The lost turkey" / Sarah Orne Jewett (1902) -- Thanksgiving spreads beyond New England -- Remembering loved ones back home at Thanksgiving during the California Gold Rush (1849) -- Longing for a New England Thanksgiving onboard ship in the South Seas (1857) -- An orphaned girl recalls the excitement of Thanksgiving in California (1850s) -- A Thanksgiving comedy of errors on the Nebraska Frontier (1873) -- The Civil War and creation of the national holiday -- Sarah Josepha Hale campaigns for a National Thanksgiving Holiday (1858) -- Jefferson Davis proclaims Thanksgiving for the Confederacy (1861) -- A Confederate Thanksgiving sermon (1862) -- Sarah Josepha Hale asks President Abraham Lincoln to create a National Thanksgiving Holiday (1863) -- Abraham Lincoln proclaims a National Thanksgiving Holiday (1863) -- Thanksgiving hymn written for President Abraham Lincoln (1863) --

Thanksgiving in the early 20th century -- Origins of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1920s) -- President Herbert Hoover proclaims Thanksgiving during the Great Depression (1930) -- Marble workers protest on Thanksgiving (1930s) -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt changes the date of Thanksgiving (1939) -- U.S. Congress makes Thanksgiving a legal holiday (1941) -- Thanksgiving in wartime -- President Woodrow Wilson gives thanks for the end of World War I (1918) -- Thanksgiving sacrifices on the home front during World War II (1942) -- President Harry S. Truman gives thanks for peace at the end of World War II (1945) -- Reflections on the lessons of war in time of peace and prosperity (1999) -- U.S. Navy becomes family for a sailor at sea on Thanksgiving (2005) -- Native American perspectives on Thanksgiving -- A Native American Thanksgiving address -- Wampanoag perspectives on the original immigrants (1989) -- Some Native American Thanksgiving observances (1998) -- Thanksgiving in modern times -- "The Thanksgiving Day Parade" / poem, Jack Prelutsky (1996) -- Thanksgiving with immigrant parents (2000) -- President George W. Bush proclaims Thanksgiving in the wake of the September 11 attacks (2001) -- Thanksgiving for New York firefighters (2001) -- Maintaining tradition: Thanksgiving and football (2002) -- Secret joy of eating Thanksgiving dinner at the "kids' table" (2004) -- Rewards of extending charity on Thanksgiving (2005) -- Thanksgiving thrives despite the pressures of the modern world (2006).