Southerners arrived late to the Thanksgiving table. The holiday was all but unknown below the Mason Dixon line for most of the 19th century.
They weren’t keen on a feast that was foreign to their experience. Thanksgiving was born in colonial New England and centered on that region’s traditions: pilgrims, turkey, pumpkins and cranberries.
Before and during the Civil War, there was political pushback against the spread of the “yankee abolitionist holiday.” Abraham Lincoln unified the celebration along with the country when he declared it a national holiday in 1863.
Now, you may find a splash of bourbon in the turkey gravy and sides of oyster stuffing and collard greens. Unity tastes good!
