Speaking of throwing animals a bone, Lincoln once let a turkey off death row. You could say it was a pardon. Why did he do that? Why did Abraham Lincoln pardon a turkey? In general, Lincoln was a ...

Gifting the White House poultry can be traced back to the 1800s, but the origins of the ceremonial presidential pardon of the National Thanksgiving Turkey might be more recent than you'd think.

When considering pardon requests during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln typically sought to pursue justice as he understood it, regardless of a petitioner’s race, class, or sex. In making his ...