It's one of the quirkiest traditions in American politics. Each year before Thanksgiving, the president steps outside the White House, says a few words, and spares a very lucky turkey from the dinner table. It feels like a custom stretching back to the Founding Fathers.
The official turkey pardon is much newer than most people think. Turkeys have been presented to presidents since 1947, but the first president on record to jokingly pardon one was Ronald Reagan in 1987. George H. W. Bush made the pardon a permanent part of the ceremony starting in 1989.
The Lincoln Story Is Probably a Legend
You may have heard that Abraham Lincoln pardoned a turkey for his son Tad in 1863. It's a sweet tale, but it appears to be made up. The story only showed up in print after Lincoln's assassination in 1865, and it was about a Christmas turkey, not a Thanksgiving one.
Truman and the Poultry Protest
The yearly presentation of a turkey to the president began in 1947 under Harry Truman, and it grew partly out of a food fight. Truman's administration was trying to save grain for foreign aid after World War II, and it promoted meatless Tuesdays and poultryless Thursdays.
The poultry industry was furious. The National Poultry and Egg Board pointed out that Thanksgiving fell on a Thursday, and so did Christmas and New Year's Day that year. A truce was reached before Thanksgiving. As for the turkeys presented to Truman, records at his presidential library show he admitted eating at least some of them.
Documents at his presidential library show that Dwight Eisenhower ate his turkeys too. Then, on November 19, 1963, John F. Kennedy spontaneously spared a 55-pound bird wearing a sign that read Good Eating Mr. President. He sent it back to the farm, saying they'd let this one grow. Some newspapers called it a pardon, but Kennedy never did. Just three days later, he was assassinated.
A Joke That Stuck
Ronald Reagan had been sending his turkeys to farms and petting zoos since at least 1982, and his turkeys started getting names, like 1984's R.J., short for Robust and Juicy. In 1987, Reagan was facing questions over the Iran-Contra affair and whether he might pardon Oliver North. To deflect, he joked about pardoning the turkey, named Charlie.
George H. W. Bush turned the joke into a tradition in 1989. The word pardon was apparently added by a speechwriter. Bush said reprieve, keep him going, or pardon, it was all the same for the turkey, as long as he didn't end up on the president's holiday table.
Life After the Pardon
For many years, pardoned turkeys went to Frying Pan Farm Park in Virginia. After animal rights groups raised concerns that the birds weren't surviving long, from 2005 to 2009 they went to Disneyland or Walt Disney World and served as honorary grand marshals of a Thanksgiving parade. Later birds went to George Washington's Mount Vernon, other Virginia estates, and university poultry programs.
Most pardoned turkeys don't live very long, but there are exceptions. A 2009 bird named Courage lived more than six years after a diet change at Disneyland. So this Thanksgiving, when you see the president spare a turkey, you'll know the true story. It's less ancient history and more of a happy accident.
