Turkey vs. eagle: which bird will you bake?
Jana Hill
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Forum
The wild turkey has represented Thanksgiving for years. Either being shot out in the heavy woods or found frozen in the supermarket, the majority of American families consume this domestic fowl.
However, in the 1700's one person wanted to make the turkey more than just what is consumed on Thanksgiving Day.
That person was Benjamin Franklin, and he wanted to make the turkey the national bird.
In a letter to his daughter, Franklin said, "For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly."
Franklin was not pleased that the bald eagle was chosen for the national bird.
"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage," continued Franklin.
How would Thanksgiving be different today if the turkey was our national bird?
No turkeys would appear in roasting pots on tables with stuffing inside them. Hunters would not be seen with turkey calls waiting to shoot a turkey.
The national seal would include a turkey instead of an eagle, and eagles would not have the protection they do today. Turkeys would overrun America.
We should be thankful that the national bird is not a turkey.
I don't know what we would eat on Thanksgiving Day, but can you imagine how hard it would be to shoot an eagle?
According to baldeagleinfo.com, "Bald eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet. During level flight, they can achieve speeds of about 30 to 35 mph."
I wouldn't want to be a hunter trying to shoot a bird that was flying that high and that fast through the sky.
150 years after Ben Franklin made his claim that the turkey should be our national bird, John F. Kennedy refuted him by saying, "The Founding Fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the nation. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolizes the strength and freedom of America."
The Founding Fathers also realized that turkey is easier to kill and probably tastes better than eagle as well.
They wanted to keep the turkey on the table and keep the eagle in the sky.
However, in the 1700's one person wanted to make the turkey more than just what is consumed on Thanksgiving Day.
That person was Benjamin Franklin, and he wanted to make the turkey the national bird.
In a letter to his daughter, Franklin said, "For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly."
Franklin was not pleased that the bald eagle was chosen for the national bird.
"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage," continued Franklin.
How would Thanksgiving be different today if the turkey was our national bird?
No turkeys would appear in roasting pots on tables with stuffing inside them. Hunters would not be seen with turkey calls waiting to shoot a turkey.
The national seal would include a turkey instead of an eagle, and eagles would not have the protection they do today. Turkeys would overrun America.
We should be thankful that the national bird is not a turkey.
I don't know what we would eat on Thanksgiving Day, but can you imagine how hard it would be to shoot an eagle?
According to baldeagleinfo.com, "Bald eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet. During level flight, they can achieve speeds of about 30 to 35 mph."
I wouldn't want to be a hunter trying to shoot a bird that was flying that high and that fast through the sky.
150 years after Ben Franklin made his claim that the turkey should be our national bird, John F. Kennedy refuted him by saying, "The Founding Fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the nation. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolizes the strength and freedom of America."
The Founding Fathers also realized that turkey is easier to kill and probably tastes better than eagle as well.
They wanted to keep the turkey on the table and keep the eagle in the sky.
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