1754 in the Thirteen Colonies - Battle of Fort Necessity, Battle of Jumonville Glen, Albany Congress, Albany Plan (Paperback)

Chapters: Battle of Fort Necessity, Battle of Jumonville Glen, Albany Congress, Albany Plan. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference, was a meeting of representatives of seven of the British North American colonies in 1754 (specifically, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). Representatives met daily at Albany, New York from June 19 to July 11 to discuss better relations with the Indian tribes and common defensive measures against the French. Delegates did not view themselves as builders of an American nation; rather, they were colonists with the more limited mission of pursuing a treaty with the Mohawks. It was the first time that all the colonies had been together. The delegates spent most of their time debating Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of union. It would have created a unified colonial entity. The delegates voted approval of a plan that called for a union of 12 colonies, with a president appointed by the Crown. Each colonial assembly would send 2 to 7 delegates to a "grand council" that would have legislative powers. The Union would have jurisdiction over Indian affairs. The plan was rejected by the colonies, which were jealous of their powers, and by the Colonial Office, which wanted a military command. However, it formed much of the basis for the later American governments established by the Articles of Confederation of 1777 and the Constitution of 1787. Franklin himself later speculated that had the 1754 plan been adopted, the colonial separation from England might not have happened so soon The episode has achieved iconic status as presaging the formation of the United States of America in 1776, and if often illustrated with ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=159482