Benjamin Franklin, a thirsty Founding Father

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

When you’re out buying bottles of booze for a party in the United States of America there is a fair chance that Benjamin Franklin is laughing at you from your wallet. The face of this ‘Founding Father’ marks the 100 dollar bill. He is not only known from his signature under America’s Declaration of Independence and it’s first Constitution. He also experimented with science, writing, poetry and art. And like most men in his time (1706-1790) he drank every day.

Now it’s absolutely not true that Franklin accomplished all his work while heavily intoxicated. But in the times of Colonial America the water supply was unsafe to drink. Therefor the people turned to wine, beer or apple cider to ease their thirst. What makes Franklin special is the way he wrote about alcoholic beverages. Some of his sayings are pure poetry to our ears. You might have seen some of them in our Quotes and Sayings section. Here are some classics…

,,There cannot be good living where there is no good drinking.”

,,In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.“

,,Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Now this last one might not have been an actual Franklin-quote. At least no written proof has ever been found. Yes, we too brought you this quote as a certain fact, but to be honest we can not back that up. Already too many sources have copied each other and that’s why the quote is generally believed to be true. Critics however claim that someone once mixed up the following lines written by Franklin:

,,Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”

A bit more poetic, but we love the message just as much. Now, Franklin’s role in the American Independence we can discuss briefly. Actually he was not too involved in the whole uprising. Franklin actually supported the English colonizers until pretty late, since he was afraid a war would destroy the colonies. However he remained a well respected citizen and therefor was involved in the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He also fought for the end of slavery, published his own almanac, invented the lightning rod and that’s just the top of the iceberg. We like to remember Franklin mainly because of his love for alcoholic beverages.

Micky Bumbar

More drinkers that left their mark on the world’s history.

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4 thoughts on “Benjamin Franklin, a thirsty Founding Father

  1. This guy was glorified to me as a child in my history classes. When you have to beat it out of France using diplomatic immunity, you might want to rethink your life.

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  2. Pingback: Sweatpants & Humor | Happy Birthday and Warmest “Scent-iments” to Benjamin Franklin

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