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This week on softcore history, we are talking about Benjamin Franklin's

frothing at the mouth racism.

If there's one thing Benjamin Franklin

was tired of seeing in America,

it was people who weren't white.

And he said, I'm tired of all these non-whites coming to America

Specifically Germans that's right Benjamin Franklin did not think Germans were white people in 1751.

As far as Franklin was concerned, the only people who were truly white at the time were the English

and then the Saxons who were, English were descended from everyone else a dirty

something he used the word swarthy and tawny a lot he said a lot of things that

were interesting in the letter he also said a lot of things that were

eyebrow raising in the letter he also a lot of things that were eyebrow raising in the letter

but it actually went on to be one of the most impactful pieces of writing from Franklin's

career in so much that it helped inspire Charles Darwin and his

thoughts on evolution.

It's actually a pretty funny interesting letter and we're going to get into it today.

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