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35 Times the US Trampled on Native American Rights

Trista June 6, 2019 16 min

Plimoth Patuxet Museums - Thanksgiving — Jennie A. Brownscombe's "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" from 1914. Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.

33. During the Civil War, Lincoln Established Thanksgiving

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Alexander Gardner / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.

President Lincoln thought that setting aside a day for giving thanks would help spur national unity during the Civil War. The narrative of Native Americans and white settlers being friendly with each other seemed to be the perfect way to create a tale of unity in the land that dated back to before its founding. The problem is that the story he used to establish a new holiday was just not true.

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Trista

33. During the Civil War, Lincoln Established Thanksgiving

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