A lot of uneducated people in today’s time think that the colonies always worked together before the French and Indian war. But sadly the people who think this are wrong. In fact the only connection between the colonies, other than the fact that they were all part of England, was through trade. With this loose connection there would never be any hope of defeating the French in the French and Indian war. But luckily Ben Franklin had a great idea to unite the colonies called the Albany plan of union.
Even though it was not passed, the Albany Plan of union was a genius idea because it brought every colony under the control of one council, allowed the collection of taxes for military purposes, and united the colonies so that they could actually defeat the French. First off, throughout America the only thing governing the colonies besides England was each colony’s own colonial assembly. This kept each of the colonies very diverse and independent from each other.
With the Albany Plan each of the colonies would be under control of a Grand Council, which would be headed by a President General appointed by the king.
This would keep all the Colonies together and following one order. With this the Colonies could easy be ready for war if anything were to happen. Secondly, another big problem with the separated colonies was the fact that barely any money was sent to help the war effort. Without money for support there would be no way for supplies. Under the Albany Plan for Union, the grand council would have the right to collect taxes to go towards the war effort. One of the disagreements about this part of the plan was that the larger colonies became angry because they would be paying more taxes then the smaller colonies.
This would prove to be Benjamin Franklin’s most daring part of his plan. Finally, one of the most important parts of this plan was that it united all the colonies as one. Before this plan the militia was state based and not very professional. Also state militia would not leave the boundary of their own state. This made the Militia weak and unable to defeat the French. With this union of colonies, the militias could come to the war in minutes earning them the nickname, Minutemen. In conclusion, The Albany Plan of Union was truly a genius idea.
Each part f the plan was what the colonies needed to be united and to defeat the French forces. Sadly though, The Albany Plan of Union needed an approval from parliament and the colonial assemblies. In the end it was not passed because the British saw it as a threat and the Assemblies liked there power. Even though it was not accepted it was a great idea. Even though it was not passed, the Albany Plan of union was a genius idea because it brought every colony under the control of one council, allowed the collection of taxes for military purposes, and united the colonies so that they could actually defeat the French.
