Did Ben Franklin Really Want To Use The Turkey As Our National Bird? Did Benjamin Franklin really suggest that the Wild Turkey should be on the seal of our new nation? I have puzzled over this for some time, not that I went digging deep in a library somewhere. Google can be so informative. GTS (Google That Stuff), then double check other references… The Franklin Institute, History.com, Smithsonian Magazine etc. Why do we believe he wanted the Wild Turkey to represent our nation? Here is what I found on Live Science, an excerpt from a letter he supposedly wrote to his daughter… “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... the turkey is, in comparison, a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.” Benjamin Franklin did work with the committee to design a seal for this great nation, but his choice did not have a bird of any kind on it. More to the point, why did he think to compare the eagle to the turkey? Perhaps I am getting things out of order. Our national seal was designed and accepted before he wrote this letter. In fact, he had used it on some of his publications. A group had formed, open only to male descendants of the Revolutionary War officers, as well as to French officers who fought for America’s independence, and their male children through the generations. Now Franklin, being a strong advocate of the common man, was not very fond of this group. The Society of the Cincinnati had on their seal the Bald Eagle. It is believed this 36
is the group he aimed his satire towards. With this in mind, let’s look at Ben as he is considering a way to surreptitiously poke fun at them. There he sat with quill in hand, contemplating this seal of an organization he did not respect. Ah yes, the quill in his hand, it came from the left wing of a turkey. Now how did I know that? The rich or more privileged would have used a goose or swan quill. And Benjamin Franklin is Poor Richard. The most common quills came from wild turkeys, the primary flight feathers to be specific. They curve just a bit and if you were right-handed, which was very common, you wanted the feathers from the right wing, and because they are more in demand, they are higher priced. But Ben was left-handed, thus he sought the feathers from the left wing. Now, where else have we heard those terms, ‘left wing’ or ‘right wing?’ The turkey provided Ben Franklin with a writing instrument and inspiration. For us he is the centerpiece of a great day filled with lots of good food. - Betty Salter -
