Get Stuffed! The History of the Turkey (by The History Guy)

[Midnightmom]

 

We will all be surprised by the "facts" we thought we knew about turkeys and the "First Thanksgiving."

 

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Most of us are familiar with the legend that turkey was served at the first Thanksgiving dinner in 1621, and has been the traditional protein for the celebration ever since. And that would be one of many commonly known facts about the prodigious poultry that is, well, incorrect.

 

 

 

[Necie]

I remember hearing this before. Also, that when the national bird was being chosen that someone (don’t remember who) wanted it to be the turkey. 🦃 If that had happened, nobody would have turkey for Thanksgiving as it would be protected just like the eagle. 🦅 

[Mother]

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin (maybe) that wanted the Turkey as our national bird.  Having worked with both during rehab I’d say neither has the best dispositions.  

[Midnightmom]

1 hour ago, Mother said:

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin (maybe) that wanted the Turkey as our national bird.  Having worked with both during rehab I’d say neither has the best dispositions.  

 

That is not correct according to this website: https://www.fi.edu/en/science-and-education/benjamin-franklin/national-bird

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The story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. This false story began due to a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey. In the letter, Franklin wrote that the “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”

 

About the turkey, Franklin wrote that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.” So, although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not propose it become one of America’s most important symbols.

 

 

Then there's this article from "The History Channel:

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After the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, it next tasked Benjamin Franklin—along with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson—with designing a seal to represent the new country.

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The story that Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol began to circulate in American newspapers around the time of the country’s centennial and are based on a January 26, 1784, letter in which he panned the eagle and extolled the virtues of the gobbler to his daughter, Sarah.

 

https://www.history.com/news/did-benjamin-franklin-propose-the-turkey-as-the-national-symbol

 

[Mother]

Thanks for the correction, MM.  Always good to verify statements. 

[Midnightmom]

21 hours ago, Mother said:

Thanks for the correction, MM.  Always good to verify statements. 

 

 

I couldn't remember who it was either, so I looked it up. That's how I found out we were both wrong!