JFK PARDONS THANKSGIVING TURKEY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 19, 1963, President John F. Kennedy ceremonially pardoned a turkey in the Rose Garden at the White House.
President Kennedy said,
"We'll let this one live. It will be our Thanksgiving gift to him."
The first National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was issued in November 1777 by the Continental Congress. JFK wrote in his last Thanksgiving Proclamation...
"Today we are...a nation enjoying the fruits of an ever-expanding agriculture and industry and achieving standards of living unknown in...history. We give our humble thanks for this."
SOURCES
"Presidential Proclamation 3560, John F. Kennedy, November 5, 1963," The American Presidency Project, www.presidencyucsb.edu/
"Thanksgiving at the White House 1963," www.historyinpieces.com/
