Pardoning Turkeys

No birds are pardoned in Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza, but the Mendoza family has its own Thanksgiving traditions and family stories…like the time Fina’s mom left the gizzards inside the bird and Papa ate it anyway, thinking it was a prize hidden inside the turkey.

Article II of the Constitution outlines the powers of the president, including:

He shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

The power to pardon is a tradition inherited from English law. Ever since medieval times, the monarch was allowed to forgive the legal sins of his or her subjects. Even the Greeks had their own version of pardons.

Washington and whiskey

President George Washington issued pardons to sixteen people - including a pair of rabble rousers who took to the streets to object to a tax on whiskey.

How many pardons?

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued the most pardons - 3687 - during his four terms in office. 

William Henry Harrison issued no pardons during his one month in office. Neither did James Garfield. (Both men died during their first year in office.)

And then there are turkeys…

This week, President Biden pardoned a pair of turkeys - Peach and Blossom - in an annual ceremony held in the Rose Garden. 

Why?

Please, father…

Thanksgiving itself became a national holiday in 1863. Sometime late that year, the First Family received a live turkey for the White House Christmas dinner.

11-year-old Tad Lincoln immediately named the bird Jack and the turkey became a White House pet. On Christmas Eve, the president told his son that Jack was on the menu for dinner. Tad refused, saying, "I can’t help it. He’s a good turkey, and I don’t want him killed.”

The president relented, even writing a card officially granting the pardon for the bird.

There were several other White House turkey events over the years - not necessarily sparing the birds from the Thanksgiving table

It was President H.W. Bush who made the turkey pardon official in 1989 and the press has eaten it up ever since.

The pardoned turkeys are sent to zoos or animal sanctuaries, but the National Turkey Federation says their time to enjoy their freedom is short: most turkeys are lucky to live another two years.

I had the privilege to witness a turkey pardoning as a journalist. President Obama was flanked by the two first daughters, who declined their father’s invitation to pet the large white tom. I steered clear, too.

My favorite version of the Turkey Pardon, courtesy of “The West Wing”

Next
Next

Welcome to Facts Behind the Fiction