FTCE Social Science 6-12 (037) Book + Online by Atkinson Rhonda;Metcalf Cynthia;

Author:Atkinson, Rhonda;Metcalf, Cynthia;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Research & Education Association
Published: 2017-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

COMPETENCY 5.3

Identify the causes, significant individuals, and effects of the events associated with the Revolutionary era.

Albany Plan of Union

In 1754, representatives of seven colonies and 150 Indians met in Albany, New York, to gain the allegiance of the Iroquois Confederacy and to provide a system for the collective defense of the colonies in the face of the coming war with France. After renewing the alliance with the Iroquois, who promised to continue to protect the English from attacks by the French-supporting Hurons, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union. This plan provided for an intercolonial government that would regulate dealings with the Native Americans, organize and run a colonial army, manage the public lands, legislate, and supervise the collection of taxes for a common defense fund. England rejected the proposal because they felt that a union of the colonies would make them too unmanageable. The colonies also rejected the Albany Plan because they did not want to relinquish any of their powers to a grand council, particularly the right to tax. Franklin’s annoyance at the lack of support was reflected in his published cartoon in which he drew a snake broken into pieces, with the inscription below: “Join, or Die.” The drawing was based on the popular belief that a snake that had been cut in half would come to life again if the pieces were joined before sunset. This rejection of the Albany Plan foreshadowed what would happen later in colonial affairs and the issues that would arise in future intercolonial gatherings like the First and Second Congress. Had the Albany Plan passed, it could have rendered the American Revolution unnecessary. This also proved to be the last attempt to devise an intercolonial union.

Figure 5.2

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