Thanksgiving: A Tradition of Unity in a Divided Nation And Why Its Original Purpose Matters More Than Ever for The Same House Today
Every November, people across America gather around the table. We pass plates of comfort food, share stories of our favorite memories with our loved ones, and pause long enough to feel grateful for the beautiful things in our lives. But the story behind Thanksgiving is much deeper than a holiday meal. It was created to bring a divided nation back together, and that original purpose feels especially important today.
At the center of that history is a woman who believed fiercely that unity was not only possible, but essential.
Sarah Josepha Hale, The Mother of Thanksgiving
Known today as the “Mother of Thanksgiving,” Sarah Josepha Hale was many things: a writer, an abolitionist, an early advocate for women’s education, and the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, one of the most influential publications of the 19th century.
For 17 years, she campaigned tirelessly for a national day of gratitude. She wrote article after article, sent letters to governors and presidents, and made her case to anyone who would listen. Her conviction was simple but powerful: If the entire nation—North and South, rich and poor, rural and urban—could stop for a single day and give thanks together, Americans might remember their shared identity, shared values, and shared future.
Thanksgiving, she believed, could act as a sort of civic reset button. A reminder that despite our differences, we belong to the same national family.
Lincoln, the Civil War, and a Holiday Meant to Heal
Sarah’s pleas finally reached President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, when the Civil War was at one of its darkest points. More than 600,000 Americans had lost their lives. Families and communities were torn apart. Trust in the nation was hanging by a thread.
Lincoln understood the power of a symbolic act, and that shared rituals could create a sense of belonging when everything else felt uncertain.
That year, he called for the first official national Thanksgiving. He invited all Americans to gather on the same day to reflect with humility and gratitude. It was more than a proclamation. It was a message to a broken nation that we were still one people.
Thanksgiving was created in a time of incredible division, but quickly became a symbol of unity. It was meant to draw us back to one another.
The Same House: Continuing the Work of Unity
Today, America stands at another moment of division. Political lines have hardened, trust has eroded, and communities often speak past each other instead of to each other. It can feel as though we are not simply divided politically, but divided socially, culturally, and spiritually.
But the original purpose of Thanksgiving asks us to remember a simple truth: we all live in the same house.
This belief is at the heart of our work. The very idea of The Same House is rooted in the idea that the future of this country depends on our ability to come together, to see one another, and to rebuild the bonds that keep our communities strong.
We carry forward the same vision Sarah Josepha Hale and Abraham Lincoln shared: that unity is not naïve; it is necessary. That gratitude is not passive; it is active. And that peace is not a wish; it is something we must build together, block by block, table by table, community by community.
Why Thanksgiving Matters Now More Than Ever
In a season filled with heated rhetoric and fraying trust, Thanksgiving calls us back to who we are, not as partisans, not as opponents, but as neighbors.
It invites us to:
- Pause before we judge.
- Listen before we argue.
- See each other before we dismiss each other.
- Give thanks before we give up.
When we come together this season, we honor the belief that unity is still possible. That the same spirit that helped hold the nation together during the Civil War can help us mend the divisions of today.
The same spirit that helped steady the country during the Civil War can help us mend what feels broken today.
Thanksgiving was created for such a time as this.
And so was The Same House.
A Call to Remember
As we celebrate this year, may we remember that Thanksgiving was born from the hope that one shared day could help heal a broken nation.
May we remember Sarah Josepha Hale’s radical belief in the power of unity.
May we remember Lincoln’s courage to call a nation to gratitude amid war.
And may we recommit ourselves to the work of building a country worthy of our children. One where all of us, no matter our differences, can say:
We live in the same house.
And in this house, we are stronger when we choose each other.