Step 1 : Introduction to the question "Which U.S. president was the first to officially pardon a Thanksgiving turkey?"
...Although several presidents before him spared turkeys informally or as photo-op gestures, the first official presidential turkey pardon took place in 1989 under George H. W. Bush. During a lighthearted ceremony on the White House lawn, Bush declared that the turkey presented to him by the National Turkey Federation would be “pardoned” and allowed to live out its days safely on a farm. His statement formalized what had previously been an inconsistent tradition, transforming it into the annual, televised Thanksgiving ritual Americans recognize today.
