In the midst of a Civil War that severed our country and killed 2 percent of its population, Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Counting an abundance of blessings, Lincoln said “it has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

In a nation then four score and seven years old, he saw beyond the dark uncertainties of the moment and into a glorious future: “The country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.”

Alongside this gratitude and optimism came a plea for prayer, that Americans “commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation.”

On this last Thursday of November, seven score and twenty years hence, I am thankful for the enduring strength of America’s free institutions and the unrivaled capacity of the people of California to chart a new course. For this, I am hopeful that a better year lies ahead, a new direction for our state and country.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.