It has become such a well-known tradition that Turkish presidential pardon ceremonies seem to have been around since the days of the Pilgrims. However, it wasn’t until 1989 that the event became official.
This may be one of the most interesting jobs a president has done in decades, and the most unusual habit. But how did the practice of pardoning turkeys begin? And which president was the first turkey pardoned?
Historical records date back to the 1870s, when birds were sent to the White House as gifts during the holidays. They were given symbols of patriotism and good cheer, the White House said.
Who was the first president to pardon a turkey?
President Abraham Lincoln may have been spared the first turkey to become Christmas dinner in 1863, according to an 1865 dispatch by White House correspondent Noah Brooks. According to the story, Lincoln’s son Tad lobbied to save the turkey that the Lincolns were planning to serve for dinner. But the White House Historical Association says the description could be similar to George Washington and the cherry tree.
No mercy on you: President Harry Truman showed no mercy on turkeys.
Although President Harry S. Truman is often credited with being the first person to pardon a turkey, records show that the president never pardoned a turkey, although this event appears to have been merely staged for a photo with a turkey presented by the National Turkey Federation in 1947. Instead, they were to be served on the table.
According to History.com, the Truman Library once issued a statement saying, “Staff members have found no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records in our holdings that refer to Truman’s pardoning of turkeys he received as gifts, or to any pardons he issued while president.”
But they have started formal turkey presentations from the poultry industry.
President Kennedy pardons turkey
According to the White House Historical Society, John F. Kennedy was the first president to informally pardon a turkey. “Let’s keep him going,” Kennedy declared in a 1963 Washington Post article, referring to the turkey. The words “pardon” and “respite” were used.
It wasn’t until President Ronald Reagan’s administration that it became common practice to deliver gifted turkeys to farms. Several first ladies also sent gifted birds to area farms, the White House said.
◾ Patricia Nixon During the last years of his administration, he accepted a turkey on Richard Nixon’s behalf. She gave the bird to the Oxon Hill (Maryland) Children’s Farm in 1973.
◾ Rosalynn Carter and President Jimmy Carter He made a similar trip in 1978 to rescue turkeys at a small zoo at the Evans Farm Inn in Virginia.
Thanksgiving turkey receives first official presidential pardon
It wasn’t until the George H.W. Bush administration that turkey pardons became a formal tradition.
According to the National Turkey Federation, on November 17, 1989, President Bush said in his Thanksgiving proclamation, “Our special guest…is understandably nervous, but let me assure you and this fine Tom turkey that he will not be on anyone’s table except this man, who has been granted a presidential pardon at this time…”
Since then, every president has continued the tradition of “pardoning” the Thanksgiving turkey.
Which president pardoned the most turkeys?
Throughout his presidential term from 2009 to 2016, President Barack Obama pardoned two turkeys each year, including the main turkey and its stand-in. He set a record by pardoning 16 turkeys during his two terms, according to the White House Archives.
Since 1989, more than 30 turkeys have been formally pardoned by the president at the White House. The National Turkey Federation estimates that Americans consume about 46 million turkeys, or 1.4 billion pounds, during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Turkeys pardoned by the president typically spend the rest of their lives as agricultural ambassadors at historically significant farms, universities and agricultural centers.
Part of this story previously published on November 22, 2024
Contributed by Jim Sargent and Olivia Manson
Sources White House Historical Society, National Türkiye Federation, History.com, Smithsonian Magazine, USA TODAY research
