Publisher

Interactive

Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

This Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation interactive also includes:

While most Americans connect the celebration of Thanksgiving to a colonial celebration of pilgrims and Native Americans, the national holiday was actually the product of a war-time measure by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Learners examine his proclamation creating the national holiday, honing in on key texts in the proclamation. After they examine the document and an accompanying Thomas Nast cartoon, class members discuss the importance of this celebration.

10 Views 7 Downloads CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

thanksgiving, the first thanksgiving, abraham lincoln, primary source analysis, primary source images, primary sources, civil war, the united states civil war, national holidays, united states holidays, winter holidays

Additional Tags

social studies

Instructional Ideas

Use the activity as an introduction to learning about Thanksgiving
Supplement instruction of the Civil War with the interesting anecdote from the conflict

Classroom Considerations

All students need to access the Internet

Pros

Document focuses on a lesser-known aspect of Thanksgiving
Lesson is scaffolded for younger pupils

Cons

It's unclear who receives the online responses included in the activity

Common Core

View 35,991 other resources for 5th - 8th Grade Social Studies & History