The tradition has its origins in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln’s son convinced his father to spare a turkey from the Christmas dinner table. Future presidents continued to pardon turkeys for Thanksgiving, and the practice eventually became a formalized White House tradition during the Reagan administration. “Americans had been sending gifts to the president since George Washington’s time, and poultry gifts were later established as a national symbol of good cheer and patriotism,” Stewart McLaurin, president of The White House Historical Association, told Parade.com in an email. “But by the 1920s, the turkey gift tradition became national news and groups including the American Legion and Girl Scouts were sending turkeys in costume to the White House in decorated coops.” In 1921, the Harding Girls’ Club of Chicago even sent a turkey, Supreme II, to the White House via airplane, at a time when very few Americans had experienced air travel. Supreme II traveled in style in an aviation helmet and goggles, but he fell airsick and had to make the last part of the journey by train. Check out the photos below of presidents celebrating Thanksgiving and pardoning turkeys through the years. Next up, Thanksgiving Jokes
