Which of our founding fathers wanted the turkey to be the National Bird instead of the eagle?
Benjamin Franklin
The story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. This false story began as a result of a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey.
Which founding father wanted the turkey as the National Bird?
The story that Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol began to circulate in American newspapers around the time of the country’s centennial and are based on a January 26, 1784, letter in which he panned the eagle and extolled the virtues of the gobbler to his daughter, Sarah.
Who didn’t want the bald eagle?
The Reason Why Benjamin Franklin Didn’t Want The American Bald Eagle To Be The National Symbol. On January 26, 1784 Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter explaining the reasons why he didn’t like the fact that the American eagle was becoming a national symbol.
Why is it called Turkey?
When British settlers got off the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay Colony and saw their first American woodland fowl, even though it is larger than the African Guinea fowl, they decided to call it by the name they already used for the African bird. Wild forest birds like that were called “turkeys” at home.
Are Eagles cowards?
John James Audubon describes them as birds of “ferocious, overbearing, and tyrannical temper” while Arthur Cleveland Bent calls the eagle “an arrant coward with a ridiculously weak and insignificant voice.” Small wonder that so many native North American tribes revered the bald eagle as a mystical and spiritual symbol.
Why did America choose the bald eagle?
Some eagles have become notable in American history. 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.
Why was the Turkey better than the Eagle?
The Founding Father argued that the eagle was “a bird of bad moral character” that “does not get his living honestly” because it steals food from the fishing hawk and is “too lazy to fish for himself.” In contrast, Franklin called the turkey “a much more respectable bird” and “a true original native of America.”
When was the Eagle chosen over the Turkey and Dove?
In the end, the eagle is picked over the turkey and dove. The real debate over the Great Seal does go back to 1776 and it lasted six years. The first round involved the heavyweights of Founding Fathers: Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
What did the founding fathers think of the Turkey?
But while turkeys clearly had one fan among the Founders, Benjamin Franklin, it appears that the birds weren’t close to challenging the eagle as the nation’s proud patriotic symbol.
What was the national symbol of the founding fathers?
In popular culture, the debate over the national symbol was memorialized in the musical 1776, in which the Founding Fathers debate three possible birds as the national symbol in a memorable scene. In the end, the eagle is picked over the turkey and dove.
Why was the Bald Eagle chosen as our national bird?
Had it been up to Benjamin Franklin, the turkey we carve for Thanksgiving dinner might have been our national bird. After the bald eagle won the honor instead, Franklin wrote to his daughter that the turkey was “more respectable” than the eagle, which he thought was “of bad moral character.”
Why was the Turkey chosen as our national bird?
They are the birds Franklin seems to have preferred over the native bald eagle for our national symbol. We don’t know whether Franklin could tell a wild from a domestic turkey, but it’s easy to do. A wild turkey has chestnut-brown tail tips while a barnyard turkey has white tail tips.
The Founding Father argued that the eagle was “a bird of bad moral character” that “does not get his living honestly” because it steals food from the fishing hawk and is “too lazy to fish for himself.” In contrast, Franklin called the turkey “a much more respectable bird” and “a true original native of America.”
How did the Turkey become a symbol of American courage?
So Franklin probably wasn’t thinking about the wild turkey when he considered possible symbols of American courage. But the domestic or barnyard turkey he admired did have its origins in America’s wild turkey population. Aztec Indian tribes had long domesticated wild turkeys for food.