Secretary of State William Seward wrote it and Abe Loncoln issued it, but much of the credit for the Thanksgiving Proclamation should probably go to Sarah Josepha Hale.  A prominent writer and editor, Hale had written "Mary Had A Little Lamb" in 1830, and helped found The American Ladies Magazine, which she used as a platform to promote women's issues.  Hale often wrote editorials and articles about the holiday for three decades and she lobbied state and federal officials to pass legislation creating a fixed, national day of thanks on the last Thursdayof November.  She believed that such a unifying measure could help ease growing tensions and divisions between the northern and southern parts of the country.