Nevin's Data "Points"

  Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday — and as we approach the holiday season, it seems appropriate to take a moment to reflect upon, and acknowledge — to give thanks, if you will. While it’s the celebration following a successful harvest held by the group we now call “Pilgrims” and members of the Wampanoag tribe in 1621 that provides most of the imagery around the holiday, Thanksgiving didn’t become a national observance until much later. On Oct. 3, 1789, George Washington issued his Thanksgiving proclamation, designating for “the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving” to be held on “Thursday the 26th day of November,” 1789, marking the first national celebration of the holiday. However, subsequent presidents failed to carry forward this tradition.      Incredibly, it wasn’t marked as a national observance until 1863 — right in the middle of the Civil War, (also on Oct. 3) and at a time when, arguably, there was l...

It seems trite, almost unnecessary, to comment that we are living in and through extraordinary times.  I’m a student of history, and I have often found comfort, if not guidance, from what has gone before. As often as not, however unique and extraordinary the times seem (or are portrayed in the headlines), there’s inevitably a comparable, and almost always, an even more extreme example, of such times in decades past. [i] And while there’s been a renewed interest in, and awareness of, the pandemic of 1918 (though I’m told the pandemic of 1957-58 is a more apt comparison to COVID-19), as the anniversary of our nation’s declaration of independence nears, I’ve been drawn to the events of 1776. As it turns out, the newly declared (but not yet formal) nation was confronted not only with the struggle for independence (and no small number of voices that simply wanted to preserve the status quo), but with the scourge of smallpox. Just as the close quartering and movement...

Over the weekend, I reacquainted myself with that episode of the HBO miniseries “John Adams” titled “Independence.” As a writer and editor, I watched with a special appreciation the part where Benjamin Franklin and John Adams are “tweaking” Thomas Jefferson’s draft—and the pain in the latter’s face as his “precisely chosen” words were modified. All in all, a modest sacrifice, to be sure. But I, for one, could feel his pain. That said, anyone who has ever found their grand idea shackled to the deliberations of a committee, who has had to kowtow to the sensibilities of a recalcitrant compliance department, or who has simply suffered through the inevitable setbacks all too frequently attendant with human existence must have at least a modest appreciation for the trials that confronted not only that document’s authors, but those then living in these not-yet-united states. Without question, 1776 is one of those turning points in history, not just for this nation but, in the course of tim...