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Rosalynn and Amy Carter at Turkey Presentation

In this photograph First Lady Rosalynn Carter and her daughter Amy meet with “Purdue Pete” and the National Turkey Foundation during a pardoning ceremony at the North Portico on November 21, 1978. Presidents and their families have received turkeys for the holidays as far back as the 1870s. However, the origin of the turkey pardon is said to have started with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, after he offered a clemency to a turkey purchased for Christmas dinner at his son's request. The pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey became a formalized tradition during the Ronald Reagan administration.
Photographer
William Fitz-Patrick
Date of Work
November 21, 1978
Type
Photograph
Credit
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
View in the Digital Library

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