U.S. presidents have for decades dutifully trotted out before Thanksgiving to hold an obligatory turkey pardoning ceremony on the White House grounds.
The presidential practice of granting clemency to a choice selection of lucky turkeys just before millions of citizens feast is now an established American tradition.
But then how did it all begin? Here’s a look from the Washington Examiner into how the ceremony came into existence.
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Abraham Lincoln
Tradition has it that Abraham Lincoln was the first president to grant clemency to a turkey during the Civil War.
Historical accounts indicate Tad Lincoln, the president’s son, urged his father to spare the bird from being slaughtered for a Christmas feast in 1863, per an 1865 report by White House reporter Noah Brooks. While the White House Historical Association has reported the account may be overstated, the legend lives on.
John F. Kennedy
People delivered turkeys as gifts to the White House for years after Lincoln’s alleged act of clemency, and President Harry Truman became in 1947 the first occupant of the oval office to host a turkey presentation from the National Turkey Federation. But there is no known record of a president pardoning a turkey from the group until John F. Kennedy’s presidency in the 1960s.
“Let’s keep him going,” Kennedy said of the turkey in a 1963 Washington Post article, according to the White House Historical Association.
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The outlet’s publication was also the first time the word “pardon” was used.
Every president since Kennedy has subsequently lined up to take a photo with representatives from the National Turkey Federation during a turkey presentation ceremony.
For presidents facing foul attacks from political opponents and weighed over by heavy policy matters, the light-hearted ceremony has served as a welcome relief from the cares of the Oval Office and represented an opportunity for citizens to see the chief executive in a more human light.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan became the first president to use the term “pardon” about a turkey during a ceremony in 1987.
His successor, President George H.W. Bush, formalized the turkey pardoning tradition, with the practice becoming an annual event each year.
“He will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy. He’s granted a presidential pardon as of right now,” Bush said.
Presidents have now quipped their way through the ceremony for years, though it has ruffled PETA’s feathers.
The progressive animal rights group has found the jokes a little foul, mourning “it makes light of the mass slaughter of some 45 million gentle, intelligent birds.”
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Former President Barack Obama wasn’t known to gobble up the turkey ceremony either.
“I know some folks think this tradition is a little silly,” he said in 2015 at the pardoning ceremony. “I do not disagree.”
