Topic: Battle Of Gettysburg

The modern American Thanksgiving was officially codified by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 following a campaign by writer Sarah Hale. The holiday was originally intended to celebrate the Union victory at Gettysburg rather than the legendary 1621 pilgrim feast, which was a one-time event modeled on the British "Harvest Home." Franklin Roosevelt briefly moved the date to extend the Christmas shopping season before it was returned to the fourth Thursday of November.

The hosts analyze President Barack Obama's Thanksgiving message, arguing he has framed it as a "war holiday" focused on the military. Dvorak details the historical genesis of the holiday, citing his research on Sarah Hale and Abraham Lincoln's 1863 codification of the event to celebrate the Union victory at Gettysburg. They dismiss the traditional pilgrim narrative as "reverse-engineered sentimentalism" and note that Thomas Jefferson originally opposed the holiday.