Most Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving—about 9 in 10, according to a 2021 poll—eat turkey with their holiday meal, perhaps alongside other favorite dishes such as mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. But if you’ve ever wondered why so many of us eat turkey on Thanksgiving, the answer is a bit more complicated than you may think.
Thanksgiving just wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without a golden brown turkey taking center stage on the dinner table. But while turkey may seem inextricably linked with the November holiday today, that wasn’t always the case. So when did turkey become the protein of choice for Thanksgiving meals?
Turkey Wasn’t at the “First Thanksgiving”
There is no solid evidence that turkey was on the menu during the 1621 harvest feast shared between the Pilgrim settlers and Wampanoag people that is now considered the first Thanksgiving Written accounts from Pilgrim Edward Winslow only mention generic “fowl,” along with venison, fish, shellfish, corn, and vegetables
While wild turkeys were abundant in the Plymouth area, historians think the “fowl” reference probably referred to seasonal waterfowl like ducks or geese, not turkeys However, we do know that turkeys were being hunted in the region by the early 17th century. In a later text, Pilgrim leader William Bradford mentioned the “great store of wild Turkies” around Plymouth
Sarah Josepha Hale Helped Popularize Turkey
The strong link between turkey and Thanksgiving emerged in the mid-19th century, thanks largely to magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale campaigned tirelessly to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and she used her platforms to craft the mythology around the 1621 feast.
In her writing, Hale emphasized turkey as the quintessential Thanksgiving dish. She drew from Bradford’s text mentioning wild turkeys to reinforce this association in the minds of readers, even though his account didn’t specifically tie turkey to the harvest celebration.
Turkey Suited an Idealized New England Thanksgiving
There were practical reasons why Hale singled out turkey to represent Thanksgiving. As a New England native writing about traditions in that region, she chose foods that were available and affordable.
Farmers had started domesticating wild turkeys in the 18th century. These birds were relatively easy to raise and a single turkey could feed an entire family. Unlike chickens kept for eggs or cows for dairy, turkeys were raised just for their meat. This made them very convenient to slaughter for special meals and celebrations.
The Turkey Myth Took Hold Nationwide
Thanks largely to Hale’s advocacy, more states began adopting annual Thanksgiving holidays by the mid-1800s. When Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a nationwide holiday in 1863, the tradition of turkey as the main event was already ingrained.
Technological innovations in poultry farming and freezing further cemented turkey’s prominence. Broad-Breasted White turkeys were bred to have large, meaty chests and quick growth rates yielding abundant white meat. Refrigerated railcars and freezers enabled turkey to be distributed across the country.
Turkey Dominated Thanksgiving by the Late 19th Century
By the late 19th century, the place of turkey at the center of the Thanksgiving table was secured. An 1895 Thanksgiving menu published in Good Housekeeping listed roast turkey along with oyster or chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, celery, olives, cranberries, and mince, pumpkin, and apple pies.
U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates now put annual Thanksgiving turkey consumption at over 46 million birds. The wild turkey has also made a major resurgence, with flocks now freely inhabiting New England landscapes. So next time you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, you can thank 19th century turkey promoters like Sarah Josepha Hale for making this bird the star of the show.
‘Mother of Thanksgiving’ Popularizes Turkey
But like most of the Thanksgiving traditions we know today, turkey didn’t become widely synonymous with that November holiday until the mid-19th century. This was largely thanks to the efforts of the writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who became known as the “mother of Thanksgiving.”
In her 1827 novel Northwood, Hale included an entire chapter on Thanksgiving celebrations in her native New England and other regions. She also used her platform as editor of the magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book to sway both politicians and the public toward the idea of a national Thanksgiving holiday.
By 1854, thanks in large part to Hale’s work, more than 30 states and U.S. territories had an annual commemoration of Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln made it official in 1863, declaring the last Thursday in November as a national Thanksgiving holiday.
Turkey was a key part of Hale’s Thanksgiving vision. She drew on Bradford’s text—which was stolen by the British during the Revolutionary War but resurfaced in 1854—in order to build up the mythology surrounding the 1621 meal.
Though Bradford’s text didn’t specifically link turkey with the feast shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag, Hale made turkey into the center of her ideal Thanksgiving meal, along with a lot of other stuff. “Her descriptions of Thanksgiving sound like massive buffets, with every kind of animal you could imagine,” Abrell says.
First Thanksgiving: No Turkey on the Table?
There’s no solid evidence that turkey was on the menu in late 1621, when the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth Colony sat down with indigenous Wampanoag people for what we now recognize as the first Thanksgiving celebration. First Thanksgiving Meal
According to a contemporary account of that event by colonist Edward Winslow, the settlers and Native Americans dined on venison, fish and shellfish as well as corn and other vegetables. While “fowl” may have been served, that may well have referred to seasonal waterfowl like duck or geese, rather than turkey.
Turkeys were plentiful in the region when the Pilgrims arrived, however. Estimates put the total number of wild turkeys in North America at more than 10 million before European settlement began. In his history of Plymouth Plantation, written more than 20 years later, the colony’s longtime governor William Bradford referred to a “great store of Wild Turkies” around the time of that famous meal in 1621.
Elan Abrell, a cultural anthropologist and assistant professor in animal studies at Wesleyan University, points out that Spanish explorers brought wild turkeys from Mexico and Central America to Europe in the 1500s.
“They were probably more often being eaten by wealthier people [than the Pilgrims], but its quite possible the Pilgrims knew what turkeys were already,” Abrell says. “I cant imagine a reason why they wouldnt have hunted them, because turkeys are relatively easy to hunt and feed more people than smaller birds.”
By 1789, when George Washington declared a day of national thanksgiving—a one-off, not a recurring holiday—Americans were eating quite a bit of turkey. “I dont know that I would say it was a staple, but it was certainly being hunted and eaten by the 19th century,” Abrell says. “It was almost extinct in the wild by that time.”
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving? | COLOSSAL QUESTIONS
FAQ
When did the turkey become a Thanksgiving tradition?
Did the Pilgrims actually eat turkey on the first Thanksgiving?
What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving instead of turkey?
What did they eat before turkey on Thanksgiving?
Did Americans eat turkey at the first Thanksgiving?
“Most of what Americans eat—green bean casseroles, white potatoes, yams and cranberry sauce—came much, much later.” While turkey was likely present at the first Thanksgiving, it wasn’t the centerpiece of the meal like it is today. That happened in the late 1800s, around the time when President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Did Turkey turn up at the first Thanksgiving?
While it’s possible turkey turned up at the first Thanksgiving, it was probably not the main course. Passenger pigeons, ducks, and other birds may have been the centerpiece of the meal, and they would have been stuffed with herbs and onions instead of bread. Other main courses might have included venison, eels, and shellfish.
Does Harry Truman eat a Thanksgiving turkey?
Every November since 1947, a “National Thanksgiving Turkey” has been presented to the U.S. President. Harry Truman got the first one. During an official ceremony in the Rose Garden, the president “pardons” the turkey, meaning its life is spared and it does not get eaten.
How many turkeys do Americans eat a year?
Today, Americans eat almost 46 million turkeys (about 3 pounds per person) every Thanksgiving Day (and another 22 million at Christmas no wonder turkeys need a Presidential pardon on Thanksgiving ). That number is growing, according to the National Turkey Federation. How many turkeys are eaten each year can vary with the size of the gatherings.