Why not celebrate this Fourth of July with turkey?

On the Fourth of July, every American celebrates the founding of our nation and its traditions. This year, you could celebrate it the usual way with burgers and hotdogs. Or, you could follow in the footsteps of one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, and add the humble turkey to your list of Independence Day favorites. 

One story that still circulates as fact about Benjamin Franklin (and there are many) is that when it came time to pick a national bird for the country, Franklin objected to the bald eagle and, instead, suggested the turkey. Of course, there is little evidence that Franklin seriously or overtly suggested the turkey be one of the nation’s symbols. 

According to The Franklin Institute, however, there is evidence that Franklin may have privately preferred the turkey to the bald eagle, if only jokingly. Franklin wrote in a letter to his daughter that the bald eagle is a "bird of bad moral character." Rather than hunting for itself, the bald eagle steals food from other, more industrious birds and is "by no means a proper emblem" for the United States. By contrast, Franklin continued, even though the turkey is "a little vain and silly," it still is a "bird of courage" that would "not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on." 

If you’d like to do something different this Fourth of July, try adapting some Thanksgiving recipes for the Fourth to celebrate the courageous and delicious native bird, the turkey.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Why not celebrate this Fourth of July with turkey?