A Proclamation:

Whereas the Great Creator and Preserver of the Universe is the Supreme Sovereign of Nations, and does, when and as he pleases, reward or punish them by temporal Blessings or Calamities, according as their National Conduct recommends them to his Favor and Beneficence, or excites his Displeasure and Indignation.

And Whereas in the course of his Government, he hath graciously been pleased to shew singular kindness to the People and Nation of which this State is a constituent Member— By protecting our Ancestors in their first Establishments in this then Savage Wilderness; by defending them against their Enemies— by blessing them with an uncommon degree of Peace Liberty and Safety, and with the civilizing light and influence of his Holy Gospel— By leading us (as it were by the Hand) through the various Dangers and Difficulties of the late Revolution, and crowning it with Success— by giving us Wisdom and Opportunity to establish Governments and Institutions auspicious to order Security and rational Liberty— by preserving us from being involved in the Wars and other grievous Calamities which at this moment afflict and distress many Nations— by restoring Peace between us and the Hostile Indians who infested our Borders— by constantly favoring us with fruitful Seasons; and in general by giving us a greater portion of public welfare and Prosperity than to any other People—

And Whereas it hath pleased him, by permitting sickness to prevail and be fatal to the Lives of many in our principal City, and in sundry Places in this and other States, and by the extensive Alarms and Embarrassments which attended it, to remind us that Prosperity and Adversity are in his Hand, and that in all our pursuits we are to remember, that he is the Cause and Giver of all the Good that was, that is, or that will be. And Whereas our Almighty Sovereign in Addition to his other Mercies hath lately stayed the Hand of the destroying Angel, and by thus manifesting and multiplying his Benefits to us as a People, calls upon us as a People to manifest our Gratitude to him—

Wherefore, and particularly on this occasion it appears to me to be the public duty of the People of this State collectively considered, to render unto him their sincere and humble Thanks for All these his great and unmerited Mercies and Blessings— And Also to offer up to him their fervent Petitions to continue to us his Protection and favor, to preserve to us the undisturbed Enjoyment of our Civil and Religious Rights and Priviledges, and the valuable Life and usefulness of the President of the United States— To enable all our Rulers Councils and People to do the Duties incumbent on them respectively with Wisdom and fidelity— To promote the extension of true Religion, Virtue and Learning— To give us All Grace to cultivate National Union Concord and Good Will; And Generally, to bless our Nation, and All other Nations in the manner and measure most conducive to our and their best Interests and real Welfare.

Whether the Governor of this State is vested with Authority to appoint a day for these purposes, and to require and enjoin the Observance of it, is a Question which, circumstanced as it is, I consider as being more proper for the Legislature than for me to decide. But as the People of the State have constituted me their Chief Magistrate, and being perfectly convinced that National Prosperity depends, and ought to depend, on National Gratitude and Obedience to the Supreme Ruler of All Nations, I think it proper to recommend and therefore I do earnestly recommend to the Clergy and others my fellow Citizens throughout this State to set apart Thursday the twenty sixth day of November instant for the Purposes aforesaid and to observe it accordingly.

Given under my Hand at the Government House in the City of New York on the eleventh day of November in the Year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and ninety five, and In the twentieth Year of the Independence of the United States.2