Latest / Randy Unscripted / The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving National - NaPodPoMo 2025 #24

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The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving National - NaPodPoMo 2025 #24 · Randy Unscripted

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  Randy Black: Randy Black.
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  Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. He's a troublemaker. Welcome back to Randy Unscripted. I'm your host, Randy Black, and this is another episode in our NAPOD Pomo national
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  podcast
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  post month 2025
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  series.
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  The goal is for podcasters to post an episode every day in the month of November,
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  30 episodes in thirty days,
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  and this is episode number 24
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  in our series.
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  It's also the next episode in our Thanksgiving series leading up to the holiday this coming week.
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  In our last episode, we explored how a presidential proclamation
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  made Thanksgiving a national holiday
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  during a time of chaos.
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  Today,
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  we're gonna focus on someone who worked behind the scenes,
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  Sarah Josepha Hale, a woman whose tireless persistence played a key role in creating the national Thanksgiving holiday.
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  Her story is a perfect example of how faith,
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  vision,
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  and consistent effort can leave a lasting mark on history.
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  Sarah Joseph O'Hale was born in 1788
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  and became one of the most influential
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  women
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  of the nineteenth century.
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  She was an author, an editor,
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  and an advocate for education, morality, and family unity.
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  As the editor of Gaudi's ladies book,
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  she had a a platform
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  that reached thousands of American households.
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  Through her magazine,
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  she encouraged cultural development,
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  promoted literacy,
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  and even championed social causes.
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  Her work was widely read,
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  and she used it as a tool to shape public opinion, including her longstanding campaign
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  to establish a national day of Thanksgiving.
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  For over three decades,
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  Hale wrote editorials,
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  letters, and appeals to governors and presidents urging the creation
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  of a national Thanksgiving Day.
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  She believed that a shared holiday focused on gratitude
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  could strengthen families,
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  unite the country,
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  and encourage moral reflection,
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  especially
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  during difficult times.
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  Many presidents,
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  they ignored her requests at first, but she continued the campaign year after year,
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  never giving up on it.
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  Her vision
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  wasn't about personal recognition.
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  It was about cultivating a sense of shared gratitude across the entire nation.
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  Hale's persistence finally paid off in 1863.
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  Amid the civil war, president Abraham Lincoln responded to her appeals and issued a proclamation establishing
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  a national Thanksgiving Day.
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  He echoed the themes Hale had emphasized for decades,
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  humility,
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  unity,
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  and gratitude in the face of adversity.
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  Her efforts illustrate how faithful advocacy
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  and a commitment
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  to godly principles can create meaningful change in society.
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  As scripture reminds us, in everything give thanks
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  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
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  concerning you.
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  First Thessalonians
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  five eighteen.
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  Sarah Joseph of Hale's story shows that that
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  the lasting impact
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  doesn't always come
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  from those in the spotlight.
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  Sometimes
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  it comes from quiet,
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  steady dedication
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  and a commitment to God honoring values.
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  As we approach Thanksgiving this year, her example challenges us to cultivate gratitude,
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  strengthen our families,
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  and use whatever influence we have to bring encouragement and unity
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  to those around us.
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  Hale's life reminds us that faithful work
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  and thankfulness
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  can leave a legacy
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  that endures for generations.
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  Thank you again for tuning in for this episode of Randy Unscripted as part of the napod promo twenty twenty five series,
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  national podcast post month,
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  the goal of 30 episodes
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  in thirty days.
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  Tomorrow, we'll be back and continuing our series on Thanksgiving leading up to the holiday later in the week. I hope you'll continue to join us and that you're finding value in these episodes.
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  I'm Randy, and this has been Randy unscripted.