Thanksgiving 138 years later

This 1869 political cartoon by the great Thomas Nast (click to enlarge) depicts an idealized American Thanksgiving table, where all are welcome regardless of race. Note the reference to the then-new Fifteenth Amendment in the drapery next to President Grant’s portrait. It’s pleasant, I think, to reflect on the fact that while there is much progress still to be made, Nast’s generation could hardly have imagined the degree to which we actually have realized this picture. Many Thanksgiving tables—indeed, many families—do look like this today.