The White House’s history with Thanksgiving, and how the turkey pardon came to be | Global News Avenue

White House History grateful The tradition dates back to the national holiday founded by President Abraham Lincoln more than 160 years ago.

A proclamation issued during Lincoln’s time in office called for a celebration of Thanksgiving, trumping similar efforts by presidents before him. national park service.

The official designation of the annual national holiday is credited in part to author Sarah Josepha Hale. The NPS notes that in 1827, as editor of the Boston Ladies’ Magazine, Hale began writing articles calling for a national holiday. Finally, on September 18, 1863, she wrote to Lincoln asking him to use his presidential power to create the holiday.

Lincoln agreed, and a few weeks later, on October 3, 1863—at the height of the Civil War—he issued the Thanksgiving proclamation. Since then, the country has celebrated Thanksgiving.

But it was not until Congress passed a bill on December 26, 1941 that the holiday was designated on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

Thanksgiving at the White House is usually relatively quiet, including the tradition of pardoning a lucky turkey from its destined fate at the dinner table.

President pardons turkey

The first-ever turkey pardon was attributed to Lincoln, documented by White House correspondent Noah Brooks in an 1865 report. white house historical association.

Lincoln pardoned a turkey named Jack that belonged to his son, Tad Lincoln, and was scheduled to be eaten at the 1863 Christmas dinner.

But the WHHA said it wasn’t until Ronald Reagan was president in the 1980s that the White House began sending pardoned turkeys to farms each year to live out their lives. Decades ago, the president occasionally received turkeys from the poultry industry and decided not to eat them without an official pardon.

WHHA noted that by 1981 the practice of presenting turkeys to the president had become the norm, and the pardon ceremony quickly became a national sensation. By 1989, the annual tradition was fulfilled, with President George H.W. Bush speaking to the pardoned turkeys and saying that his successors still repeat these words at the ceremony today: “From now on, He has received a presidential pardon.”

President Biden on Monday Last two turkey pardons issued During his term of office, peach blossomsending them to Farmamerica, Minnesota to spend the rest of their lives as poultry ambassadors for agricultural students.

Gathering with family and friends

Aside from the spectacle of pardoning a turkey, presidents spend Thanksgiving the same way families across the country do.

first documented According to WHHA, the White House Thanksgiving gathering dates back to November 28, 1878. Then-President Rutherford B. Hayes held a large Thanksgiving dinner with his family and personal secretary, followed by hymns in the Red Room and an invitation to African-American staff to enjoy in the State Dining Room Your own Thanksgiving meal.

Since then, the tradition has stood the test of time. Through times of economic hardship and war, presidents found time to spend with their families. WHHA notes that President Woodrow Wilson’s first Thanksgiving meal during World War I on November 29, 1917, was economical and cranberry-free.

In recent decades, presidents have made it a tradition to celebrate the holidays at so-called “go-to” resorts outside the White House. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan visited the family ranch in Santa Barbara, California.

President-elect Donald Trump spent all but one Thanksgiving in his first term at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida. President Biden will spend every Thanksgiving with his family on Nantucket, Massachusetts, during his term in office, and so will the Biden family during this period. More than 40 years.