4. Myth: Benjamin Franklin Proposed the Turkey as the National Symbol
Fact: Franklin thought the turkey was “vain and silly”, but did describe it more favorably than the proposed bald eagle in his diaries.
In fact, Benjamin Franklin did propose a symbol for the national seal, a scene between Moses and Pharaoh. He did not propose the humble turkey appear on the national seal, nor as the national bird. He did describe the turkey in more favorable terms than the bald eagle, after observing that the image of the latter bird resembled a turkey more than the bird it was supposed to represent. This led him to muse that perhaps the turkey was a more fitting symbol for the young nation, since the bald eagle was a scavenger (“bad moral character”) though the turkey, in Franklin’s estimation, was a “little vain and silly” in appearance.
The myth that Franklin proposed the turkey serve as the national symbol arose because he wrote his random musings down, though not in an official proposal. He jotted them down in a letter addressed to his daughter, which was found in his papers much later, and led to its publication, garnished with the story that he wanted the turkey to be the symbol of the republic. The myth has persisted ever since. Franklin’s proposal of a symbol representing Moses and Pharaoh was not given serious consideration either, as the nation’s founders took steps to ensure that national symbols remained devoid of religious imagery, instead of adopting masonic symbols for the most part.