Ben Franklin's Dislike of Germans

[OldWayGuy]

Half breed americans saying about germans

[Prisoner Of Ice]

He didn't dislike Germans. He thought German should be official language of US.

He did not see any but those areas as 100% pure european, and he was basically right (minus Irish).

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2014/02...n-history.html

[Stimpy]

Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy complexion; as are the Germans also

LOL.

[Argang]

He didn't dislike Germans. He thought German should be official language of US.

He did not see any but those areas as 100% pure european, and he was basically right (minus Irish).

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2014/02...n-history.html

Don't put too much stock in that particular study, Dienekes notes their results are messed up for some populations, and Daniel Falush - one of the researchers behind it - admits the problem in the comments section of this post. Some of their samples have far too small sizes too.

[Ouistreham]

Shockingly stupid it was, but probably necessary.
Remember that the American Revolution was primarily a British civil war. American insurgents based their legitimacy by representing themselves as the better part of Britain. They weren't geared to recognize anything good from any other ethnicity than their own. It's just that childish early jingoism that made them successful.

[Visitor_22]

Most alleged "Germans" in the US are only Jews who immigrated to the US during and after Hitler.

They are eastern germans who migrated to Russia during imperial times then migrated to USA.

Volga germans!

They may be beautiful looking but not smart.

[JohnSmith]

Shockingly stupid it was, but probably necessary.
Remember that the American Revolution was primarily a British civil war. American insurgents based their legitimacy by representing themselves as the better part of Britain. They weren't geared to recognize anything good from any other ethnicity than their own. It's just that childish early jingoism that made them successful.

This is true the American did consider themselves British and therefore anyone that was not British in early America would of been seen as a foreign. The Pilgrims and Jamestown colonies were all British Settlers. The Brits/Americans also disliked the French due to the French and Indian war. There were some brutal battles between the French and British in that war that led to some ugly fighting and the killing of women and children.

[Óttar]

If I'm not mistaken, Franklin thought Germans were light-complected, and said that they were exemplary hard-workers who should be admired.

[SobieskisavedEurope]

The Pilgrims and Jamestown colonies were all British Settlers.

Not entirely true.

There were Polish immigrants in James town!

Poles in James town created the first factory in America, the first equal rights movement in America & the first bilingual schools in America!

http://www.pac1944.org/jamestown/roles-and-accomp.htm

Among major accomplishments of the first Poles was the building of a glass furnace, the first factory in America and the beginning of an industry. The goods produced in these factories became the first "made in America" goods to be exported to England. When the Mary and Margaret was ready to sail back to England, the Polish settlers sent back a full line of glassware samples they were prepared to turn out in commercial quantities as well as a cargo of pitch distilled from Virginia’s pine trees.

The colonists respected the Poles for their quality of work and other accomplishments. For instance, the Pole Lawrence (Wawrzyniec) Bohun was the first doctor in Jamestown colony. Moreover, the work done by the original group proved valuable enough to allow them to repay the Virginia Company for their passage to America, and this in turn allowed them to later become free citizens of the colony. Within a few years, there were fifty Poles living in Jamestown. Also important was the example these Poles set for the colonists. As the former President of the College of William and Mary Admiral Alvin Chandler stated in 1953, "It took the example of the Polish glassmakers to demonstrate to the colonists that the treasures of Virginia were in its soil, not in nuggets to be had for picking."

On June 30, 1619, when the Jamestown Legislative Assembly instituted a representative form of government, rules stated that only colonists of English descent would be given the right to vote. This denied Poles the right to governmental representation in a colony they helped to sustain and grow. As a result they organized what became the first labor strike in American history. Their slogan was "No vote. No work".

Facing angry and influential politicians in England, within a few weeks the Jamestown government bowed to the demands of Poles, granting them the same rights given to all workers within the colony. It is important to note that this event was not a strike against unfair employers or work place practices, but a battle for civil rights and inclusion in the political process. As Admiral Chandler stated: "…practically all of the profits realized by the London Company came from the resale of the products of the Polish industries. The Jamestown government quickly realized that if it sent empty ships back to England, the consequences could be very unpleasant". These Polish craftsmen used the economic power they had acquired through their labor to engineer an equal footing as citizens for themselves.

[Leadchucker]

Most alleged "Germans" in the US are only Jews who immigrated to the US during and after Hitler.

Where da fook did you go to school?