General Thanksgiving
By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America
A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.
(signed) G. Washington

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"Piety is the pinnacle of all civic virtues"

A very interesting book review discusses the role of piety in civic society. In our post-Lemon world, we tend to forget that without the civic acknowlegement of God, things can very quickly turn sour.

As our Nation scrambles to celebrate Thanksgiving by hopping into planes, trains and automobiles, we forget that this day, is a day that was created by our Founding President as a day of thanksgiving to God for the clear hand of Providence and favor He showed at critical moments in our struggle for independence.

If the Just Society is one where everyone is "given what is due" then the primary act of Justice is to acknowledge God as the source of all Justice and Charity. Washington's genius stemed from his own realism, humility and piety. Never before had a military leader who became the head of state, voluntarily step away from power for the good of the nation.

There is evidence that Washington made a conversion to Catholicism shortly before his death, but when we consider that the central mystery of Catholicism is the celebration of the Eucharist and the word "Eucharist" is a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving", it isn't too far of a streatch to recognize that our Founding President established this most excellent of National Holidays based on inspiration from the Catholic tradition of offer Thanks to God.