Hanson, John, 1715-1783 [Thanksgiving proclamation]
Order a pdf of this item here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06420.01 Author/Creator: Hanson, John, 1715-1783 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 19 March 1781 Pagination: 2 p. ; 32 x 20.3 cm. Order a Copy
Signed by Hanson as President of Continental Congress and countersigned by Charles Thomson as Secretary to Congress. Proclamation from Congress calls "upon the several states, to set apart the last Thursday in April next, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer." There is a slight paper loss to the edge of the document.
Although the document bears the year 1781, Hanson did not serve as president of Congress until November of that year. The circular letter that originally accompanied the proclamation (John Hanson to the States, 20 March 1782, Letters of Delegates to Congress, memory.loc.gov) and the Journals of the Continental Congress (JCC , 22:137-38, memory.loc.gov) both make it clear that this document was issued in 1782. Hanson apparently sent the proclamation to the heads of each state and to George Washington. The "33-a" at the top of the document (with a pencil line through it) signifies that it was likely deaccessioned from a collection.
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.