Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
On our last program, we looked at the Battle of Saratoga, a turning point of the Revolutionary War, and the inspiration for Congress’s first Thanksgiving declaration. That victory led to an important alliance with France—and another Thanksgiving proclamation.

In November 1775, the Continental Congress established a Committee of Secret Correspondence. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Benjamin Franklin led a commission to France seeking an alliance. The French foreign minister wanted to help, but American setbacks in 1776 dissuaded him from a full alliance. The American cause looked risky, so he offered a loan in secret. But what the colonists needed was an international recognition of their sovereignty. The decisive victory at Saratoga persuaded the French to sign a treaty of alliance in 1778.

Congress issued another Thanksgiving proclamation. Making special note of God’s blessings during that year, it set aside December 30, 1778, “that all the people may, with united hearts, on that day, express a just sense of his unmerited favors; … by his overruling providence, to support us in a just and necessary war, for the defense of our rights and liberties, … by disposing the heart of a powerful monarch to enter into alliance with us, and aid our cause … .”³

Join us next time for another Thanksgiving story. I’m Mike Farris.