Sarah Josepha Hale: The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving a Holiday

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Melanie Kirkpatrick and Vice President of Public Affairs Ann Marie Hauser for a curated conversation on Melanie’s new book, “Lady Editor: Sarah Josepha Hale and the Making of the Modern American Woman.”

As the editor of "Godey’s Lady’s Book," Hale was the most influential American woman of the nineteenth century. She helped change the national conversation on women’s rights to education, to work as teachers and doctors, and to control their own money. Hale shaped a common aesthetic for the growing country with her all-American approach – publishing American authors writing on American topics. The quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving would not exist today without her vision of a shared national celebration. Hudson Distinguished Fellow Elaine Chao said: “Sarah Josepha Hale’s belief in the potential of women transformed the world of opportunities for women today.” Please join this discussion on Hale’s remarkable legacy.