![]() Franklin realized the impact that foods-particularly, native foods-had in building the identity of a new nation. I write about food, using it as an interpretive tool to understand history and historical figures, so I was delighted to see that Benjamin Franklin liked writing about the topic as well, in his letters and political articles. Ever practical, Benjamin “Waste not, want not” Franklin clearly appreciated that a bird of taste and courage could nourish both the body and spirit of the nation. Some 200 years later, Franklin had served turkey to guests of his own in Philadelphia, and now the sumptuous fowl were often on his diplomatic table in Passy, France. Turkeys were tasty, too, Franklin further explained to her, first brought to France by the Jesuits and served to citizens of note including “at the Wedding Table of Charles the ninth,” in 1570. It “would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guard who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on,” he wrote to Sally. Eagles were found in many countries, but the turkey was an American native and “a bird of courage,” a fitting symbol of America’s valor and virtues. They thought that the eagle looked more like a turkey.įranklin asserted that this plucky fowl would have been a better choice in the first place. The tokens bore an image of an eagle-but, Franklin explained, some recipients complained that the workmanship was not up to sophisticated French standards. In a 1783 letter home to his daughter Sally, written while Franklin was serving as chief diplomat to France, he wrote about the “ribbons and medals” presented to the French by grateful Americans in thanks for significant military and financial support. ![]() In the midst of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin envisioned the turkey as an exemplar of the ideal American citizen. ![]()
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