Legal History
Why the president pardons turkeys and other Thanksgiving facts (gallery)
Primary school plays may have convinced you that you know the story of Thanksgiving. But the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday is much more recent than the Plymouth colony’s feast with the Wampanoag in 1621.
Just how did we settle on the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day? Which White House child managed to stave off execution for the turkey he’d named Jack? Why do we have the author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to thank for Thanksgiving?
And why exactly does the president of the United States issue a presidential pardon to a turkey every year?
For these answers and more, check out our gallery.