![]() “He had a very bad opinion of books and no opinion of discipline,” wrote John Hay, Lincoln’s secretary. Born with a cleft palate that gave him a lisp and dental impairments that made it almost impossible for him to eat solid food, Tad was easily distracted, full of energy, highly emotional and, unlike his father and brother, none too focused on academics. With the eldest Lincoln son, Robert, away at Harvard College, young Tad became the only child living at in the White House, and by all accounts, the boy was indomitable-charismatic and full of life at a time when his family, and the nation, were experiencing tremendous grief. Both Tad and his brother William “Willie” Lincoln were believed to have contracted typhoid fever in Washington, and while Tad recovered, Willie succumbed in February of 1862. The youngest of four sons born to Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, Tad was born after Edward “Eddie” Lincoln died in the winter of 1850 at the age of three, most likely of tuberculosis. Thomas “Tad” Lincoln was just 8 years old when he arrived in Washington, D.C., to live at the White House after his father was sworn into office in March 1861. However, the earliest known sparing of a holiday bird can be traced to 1863, when Abraham Lincoln was presented with a Christmas turkey destined for the dinner table and his young, precocious son Tad intervened. “He’s been granted a presidential pardon as of right now, allowing him to live out his days on a farm not far from here.”īush pardoned a turkey in each remaining year of his presidency, as has every president since. “Not this guy,” Bush said when a holiday turkey was presented. Reagan joked that if that year’s turkey had not already been destined for a petting farm, “I would have pardoned him.” Oliver North or any of the other figures involved in the Iran-Contra scandal. Ronald Reagan was the first president to use the word “pardon” in connection with a Thanksgiving turkey, in 1987, in response to media queries about whether he might pardon Lt. Just days before that year’s Thanksgiving, he was assassinated in Dallas. ![]() Kennedy simply announced that he would not eat the bird, and newspapers reported that the president had “pardoned” the gobbler given to him by the California Turkey Advisory Board. Kennedy became the first president to see the word “pardon” used with reference to a Thanksgiving turkey, but he did not officially spare a bird in a pre-Thanksgiving ceremony in the Rose Garden. But there’s no evidence that Truman did anything different from his successor, President Dwight Eisenhower, who, with his family, consumed all eight birds the NTF presented them. It's believed that the Thanksgiving tradition of the President pardoning a turkey dates back to 1947, when President Harry Truman, standing outside the White House, was presented with a holiday bird by the National Turkey Federation. Also, watch Arroyo discuss the story on EWTN News Nightly:Ĭlick here if you cannot see the video above. Bush restarted it in 1989.Ĭheck out Raymond Arroyo’s children’s book, “The Magnificent Mischief of Tad Lincoln” for purchase in the EWTN Religious Catalogue. It did not occur consistently, however, until George H.W. Kennedy was the first to carry on the tradition. ![]() While the Turkey Pardon began with Lincoln, President John F. Then, Abe Lincoln, with his heart full of mercy and love for his son, “granted Jack the turkey a full reprieve of execution.” The Turkey Pardon Now The president’s son cried and begged his father to save his pet turkey from its execution. Tad was very upset upon learning his beloved friend was meant for Christmas dinner! “He named his playmate Jack, like the toy soldier he and Willie used to play with.””Tad taught Jack to eat from his hand, to trot behind him, and took him out for walks on a leash.” The First Turkey PardonĪfter the White House was gifted with a Christmas turkey, Tad Lincoln befriended it. However, Willie died of typhoid fever at age 11.īoth overcome by terrible grief, Tad and Abe developed a close-knit relationship.ĭuring the Civil War, Tad often lay near his father’s desk and listened to those seeking presidential pardons. The boys even interrupted cabinet meetings to request “pardons” for their toys! Children poked fun at him, so he stayed close to his family in the White House.Īlongside his brother, Willie, seven-year-old Tad stirred up trouble and brought childlike life to the White House. Tad suffered from a cleft palate, which resulted in speech problems. In one of his latest books, EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo captures the story of Abraham Lincoln’s merciful heart through his love for his son, Tad Lincoln.
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