Do you need a work permit? what is the highest dose of lunesta you can take The tradition’s origins are, like most things, shrouded in a vast government conspiracy to hide the truth. Some rumors claim the tradition started as far back as Lincoln, when his son Tad implored him to write out a presidential pardon for the Christmas turkey. In 1873, during Grant???s presidency, a Rhode Island man named Horace Vose began the tradition of presenting the president with a stand-out turkey for his Thanksgiving feast, though these usually still ended up on the dinner table.