Below is a Thanksgiving Day proclamation by our 4th President.
JAMES MADISON 1815 THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION
N0 people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States.
His kind providence originally conducted them to one of the best portions of the dwelling place allotted for the great family of human race. He protected and cherished them under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their early days.
Under His fostering care their habits, their sentiments, and their pursuits prepared them for a transition in due time to a state of independence and self-government.
In the arduous struggle by which it was attained they were distinguished by multiplied tokens of His benign interposition…. And to the same Divine Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land. 
Please remember those who have perished during the past year.
