text: Lincoln attacked the media for such behavior, and ordered a military seizure of the two papers which lasted for two days.Lincoln is largely responsible for the Thanksgiving holiday.Thanksgiving had become a regional holiday in New England in the 17th century.It had been sporadically proclaimed by the federal government on irregular dates.The prior proclamation had been during James Madison's presidency 50 years earlier.In 1863, Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November of that year to be a day of Thanksgiving.In June 1864, Lincoln approved the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as Yosemite National Park.Supreme Court appointments Lincoln's philosophy on court nominations was that "we cannot ask a man what he will do, and if we should, and he should answer us, we should despise him for it.Therefore we must take a man whose opinions are known." Lincoln made five appointments to the Supreme Court.Noah Haynes Swayne was an anti-slavery lawyer who was committed to the Union.Samuel Freeman Miller supported Lincoln in the 1860 election and was an avowed abolitionist.David Davis was Lincoln's campaign manager in 1860 and had served as a judge in the Illinois court circuit where Lincoln practiced.Democrat Stephen Johnson Field, a previous California Supreme Court justice, provided geographic and political balance.Finally, Lincoln's Treasury Secretary, Salmon P.Chase, became Chief Justice.Lincoln believed Chase was an able jurist, would support Reconstruction legislation, and that his appointment united the Republican Party.Foreign policy Lincoln named his main political rival, William H.Seward, as Secretary of State and left most diplomatic issues in his portfolio.However, Lincoln did select some top diplomats as part of his patronage policy.