This November as our thoughts turn towards turkey, I am here to debunk a long held myth about this bird. Sorry turkeys, but Benjamin Franklin wasn’t that into you! For years the myth that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be on the official seal of the United States has been repeated at Thanksgiving celebrations. However, his devotion to raising the turkey’s status is far from true. In fact, Benjamin Franklin’s praise of the turkey has been completely taken out of context.

According to the History Channel, in 1776 when Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were given the responsibility of designing a seal to represent the fledgling country, a turkey was the farthest thing from his mind. Rather Franklin wanted the symbol to be Biblical, with “Moses standing on the shore, and extending his hand over the sea, thereby causing the same to overwhelm pharaoh who is sitting in an open chariot along with the motto ‘Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.’” The Continental Congress was not impressed, not to mention having more pressing issues to deal with at the time, and passed on Franklin’s suggestion. It wasn’t until six years later in 1782 that the Great Seal of the United States was chosen, with an eagle as its emblem.

So where did this often misquoted comparison of the turkey to the eagle by Franklin come from? It can be found in a letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache, written on January 26, 1784:

“…For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the fishing hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him, and takes it from him… Besides he is a rank coward: the little king bird not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.”

“…For in truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. Eagles have been found in all countries, but the turkey was peculiar to ours, the first of the species seen in Europe being brought to France by the Jesuits from Canada, and served up at the wedding table of Charles the ninth. He is besides, (though a little vain and silly tis true, but not the worse emblem for that) a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.” 

However, Benjamin Franklin was not referring to the seal of the United States here. Instead, according to the National Archives, this letter was written in response to a new medal designed by the Society of the Cincinnati, to be awarded to veterans of the Continental Army. Franklin, as well as others, found fault in the Society of the Cincinnati’s attempt to transplant the customs of European nobility in America, with their handing down of the medal to later descendants. Yet being a diplomat, Franklin had to tread lightly here, and could not express his concerns publicly. So what did this man known for his wit and humor do? He wrote this letter to his daughter. However, he never sent it, and instead only showed the letter in confidence to a select few. For you see, this letter was a ruse. It was intended to be published in France after Franklin’s death, which excerpts of a partial translation were made public a few months after his passing in 1790. However, the actual letter was not made public until 1817 in this country, when William Temple Franklin included it in his edition of Franklin’s writings. You can find the entire letter, along with the history behind it on the National Archives website, Founders Online.

So this begs the question, how did Franklin’s facetious praise of the turkey get transferred to the Great Seal of the United States instead? Well as time passed, no one remembered the controversy over the Society of the Cincinnati’s medal. But Americans do love an underdog, and what better than a turkey? So the myth gained its wings. In 1876 as the country celebrated its centennial, newspapers began misquoting the letter. The myth that this letter was referring to the Seal of the United Sates gained further flight in 1962. According to an article by Jimmy Stamp in 2013 for Smithsonian Magazine, on November 24, 1962 the New Yorker used on its cover an illustration by Anatole Kovarsky depicting the turkey on the Great Seal of the United States, along with the quote in the article. And with that, Franklin’s words were fovever assigned to the wrong seal. Although not his intentions at all, considering the wonderful sense of humor Benjamin Franklin possessed, I think in some way he too may have moved on from the Society of the Cincinnati controversy by now, and would enjoy the chuckle over the perpetuation of this myth.