The Turkeys That Presidents Pardoned

In turkey history, November 17, 1989 was an auspicious day. Begun by George H.W. Bush, the President’s turkey pardon saved one bird. Since then, expanded to two, the turkey pardon assures a rather posh life. Protected from weather extremes in a barn, those chosen birds feast on corn and soybeans while getting used to music, loud noise, and flashing lights. In Washington, they stay at a hotel and attend the ceremony. After, they return home to roam (or whatever turkeys do).

This year, the lucky two are Gobble and Waddle:

Presidents and Thanksgiving

Jed Bartlet

One of the pardon’s sponsors, Butterball, was commemorated in a West Wing episode. For a big smile, do take a look at President Bartlet’s call to the Butterball Hotline:

Real presidents also cared about Thanksgiving.

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

Thanksgiving became an official holiday because of Abraham Lincoln. Before that, George Washington said that November 26, 1789 would be a day for thanks and prayer. But it took until 1863 for Abraham Lincoln to declare that it was a national holiday.

Franklin Roosevelt

Next, we have to wait roughly 70 years for Franklin Roosevelt to say that Thanksgiving should fall on the second to last Thursday of the month because he wanted to increase the number of shopping days before Christmas. Reputedly creating calendar confusion and upsetting college football schedules, he soon agreed with the Congress to move the date to the fourth Thursday in November.

Our Bottom Line: Thanksgiving Economics

Focusing on the meal, the American Farm Bureau Federation tells us that dinner will be cheaper. One reason is a 16% plunge in turkey prices– mostly because grocery stores want to boost declining consumer turkey consumption:

However, as President Roosvelt knew, Thanksgiving is really about the shopping.

As he also knew, shopping is after the holiday:

And finally, as we know, like Thanksgiving, economics is about so much more than money.

My sources and more: For this year’s update, we returned to the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Retail Federation. Also, we had to recheck our facts on the first presidential turkey pardon through the Truman Library Institute and the Obama White House.

Enjoying their hotel holiday in 2019, the two pardoned turkeys in our featured image are Bread and Butter.

Have a happy holiday!