[ti:How George Washington Angered Lawmakers Over Thanksgiving] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]In September 1789, the government of the United States was only a few months old. [00:08.48]George Washington was president – the nation's first. [00:13.00]Congress was new, too. [00:15.70]Some of the early lawmakers came to the president with a question: [00:20.98]Would he call for a national Thanksgiving? [00:25.67]One aim was to help unify the young country, which was made of the 13 former colonies. [00:33.36]Calling a national Thanksgiving would be a way to bring Americans together. [00:40.12]But other lawmakers strongly objected to the idea. [00:44.80]Critics had two main concerns. [00:47.92]First, some saw Thanksgiving as a religious holiday. [00:53.13]They noted the president could not use the power of the federal government [00:58.32]to urge Americans to follow -- or not follow -- a religious tradition. [01:04.30]Second, opponents of the measure believed the president did not have the right to call a national Thanksgiving. [01:12.63]That power belonged to the leader of each state, they said. [01:17.71]In the end, Washington did formally call for a national Thanksgiving. [01:23.44]It was the country's first presidential proclamation. [01:28.19]In it, he called for a national "day of public thanksgiving and prayer." [01:34.51]He also tried to satisfy opponents of the idea. [01:39.31]Melanie Kirkpatrick is the writer of "Thanksgiving: [01:43.84]The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience. [01:48.28]" She explains that Washington sent copies of his proclamation [01:53.82]to the leader of each of the 13 states. [01:57.50]He asked them to call a national Thanksgiving on the day he had chosen. [02:03.95]The president was very well respected, Kirkpatrick notes. [02:08.88]And so the state leaders all agreed. [02:12.67]In the years that followed, some presidents issued their own proclamations for a day of thanksgiving; [02:19.84]many others did not. [02:22.84]Finally, in 1941, lawmakers in Congress made the fourth Thursday in November a legal holiday. [02:33.68]This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will gather to eat a meal and express their thanks. [02:41.56]Their gatherings may echo George Washington's first Thanksgiving proclamation. [02:48.40]In it, the first president made a point of declaring [02:53.04]that people of all religions should celebrate Thanksgiving. [02:57.76]That idea is still important. [03:00.99]Almost everyone in the country, including immigrants, observes the holiday in some way. [03:08.28]Kirkpatrick says that for new Americans, the day can be a rite of passage. [03:15.57]In her words, "The idea is that once you celebrate Thanksgiving, [03:21.31]you know you are truly participating in a national festival that cements your position as an American." [03:30.80]I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM