How George Washington used his first Thanksgiving as president to unite a new country

[Grim Reaper 6]

On, Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789, George Washington woke early. Assisted by his enslaved valets – William “Billy” Lee and the young Christopher Sheels – he powdered his hair, put on his favorite black velvet suit, tied his white neckwear and donned his yellow gloves. He had an important aim that day: to celebrate Thanksgiving. Washington had thought carefully about this Thanksgiving, the first of his presidency. On Oct. 3, 1789, following the recommendation of a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, Washington had issued a proclamation. He urged the people of the United States to celebrate “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.

But Washington believed that particular Thanksgiving in 1789 was a crucial occasion. He would use it to call on the people he now led to hold their new country together in the face of forces that he knew could pull it apart.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-george-washington-used-his-first-thanksgiving-as-president-to-unite-a-new-country/ar-AA14x5dz?ocid=EMMX&cvid=aaebe4aec1174d45a0898b1d7c8cb193

[el midgetron]

Granted it’s a rather mild example of the leftist take on Thanksgiving but they did managed to work in a nod to Donald Trump and January 6th. No wonder the members who are baffled by a discussion of Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day have no issue here.  

“What Washington wanted was a virtuous kind of populism in the new country he led. Washington’s populism wasn’t about inciting an angry mob; it was about sharing in their rituals, worshiping their God, speaking their own language. And he did so in the sole interest of the American people….……

……..As its first president, Washington recognized that the United States was born out of slavery, conquest and violence as much as of sacred principle….…….

……..He was a slave owner, a relentless pursuer of African American fugitives and a destroyer of Native American villages. He was also a warrior who deployed brutality against enemies……

…..Washington met with a diversity of people, including those who were second-class citizens or were not citizens at all. Women, for example,……”