The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
Twenty-four turkeys have been spared from the Thanksgiving dinner table by presidential pardon.
Presidents have pardoned 24 Thanksgiving turkeys since President George H.W. Bush started the tradition in 1989, The turkeys are donated from turkey farms around the country, and after being spared from the dinner table, are sent to live out their days on a farm. In past years, pardoned turkeys have even traveled to California to serve as marshals in the Thanksgiving Day Parade at Disney Land.
President Obama pardoned both Liberty, this year's National Thanksgiving Turkey, and its alternate Peace. The birds were raised by four high school students on a farm in Willmar, Minnesota and sent to live in Mt. Vernon after the pardoning ceremony.
Want to know more? Read our definitive history of the Presidential Turkey Pardon.
