The Albany Plan of Union, proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, was an early attempt to unify the American colonies under a central government for mutual defense and cooperation. Though ultimately rejected by colonies and the government of Great Britain, the Albany Plan of Union is thought to have influenced the U.S. Founders’ ideas for a collective federal government.
Note to teachers: The plan was developed by 7 of the colonies. The proposed union would not have included Delaware or Georgia.
00:00:00 Do you know the phrase, “there's no ‘I’ in ‘team’?” More than 270 years ago, the idea of banding together had not been formally discussed by the colonies. Until Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of Union argued that working together would make them stronger. In the mid-1700s, the thirteen colonies were controlled by Britain. Each colony had separate laws and different forms of government.
00:31:01 The French had territory in the West. When they started making plans to expand, the British ordered delegates from the colonies to gather in Albany, New York. Their goal? To restore relations between the colony of New York and the Mohawk Nation - part of a larger, more powerful group called the Iroquois Confederacy. The British hoped that together they could stop French expansion.
00:53:12 During these discussions, Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin presented a revolutionary idea: What if the colonies formed a united government? Thought to be inspired by the Iroquois Confederacy’s structure of government, Franklin's Albany Plan proposed a central government that shared power with local governments, and a centralized governing council - of colonial delegates, and a President General - appointed by the British. This would oversee Indigenous relations and some affairs between the colonies.
01:23:15 Franklin's famous “Join, or Die” cartoon symbolized his belief that the colonies could only survive French expansion by working together. Ultimately, the plan was rejected by the colonies, who feared giving up their individual power. And by the British, who feared what would happen if the colonies united. But decades later, during the American Revolution, Franklin's vision of a collective government would finally begin to take hold.
01:50:10 Mirroring the Iroquois Confederacy, the Albany Plan laid out principles that would eventually be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The Albany Plan of Union, proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, was an early attempt to unify the American colonies under a central government for mutual defense and cooperation. Though ultimately rejected by colonies and the government of Great Britain, the Albany Plan of Union is thought to have influenced the U.S. Founders’ ideas for a collective federal government.
Note to teachers: The plan was developed by 7 of the colonies. The proposed union would not have included Delaware or Georgia.
00:00:00 Do you know the phrase, “there's no ‘I’ in ‘team’?” More than 270 years ago, the idea of banding together had not been formally discussed by the colonies. Until Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of Union argued that working together would make them stronger. In the mid-1700s, the thirteen colonies were controlled by Britain. Each colony had separate laws and different forms of government.
00:31:01 The French had territory in the West. When they started making plans to expand, the British ordered delegates from the colonies to gather in Albany, New York. Their goal? To restore relations between the colony of New York and the Mohawk Nation - part of a larger, more powerful group called the Iroquois Confederacy. The British hoped that together they could stop French expansion.
00:53:12 During these discussions, Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin presented a revolutionary idea: What if the colonies formed a united government? Thought to be inspired by the Iroquois Confederacy’s structure of government, Franklin's Albany Plan proposed a central government that shared power with local governments, and a centralized governing council - of colonial delegates, and a President General - appointed by the British. This would oversee Indigenous relations and some affairs between the colonies.
01:23:15 Franklin's famous “Join, or Die” cartoon symbolized his belief that the colonies could only survive French expansion by working together. Ultimately, the plan was rejected by the colonies, who feared giving up their individual power. And by the British, who feared what would happen if the colonies united. But decades later, during the American Revolution, Franklin's vision of a collective government would finally begin to take hold.
01:50:10 Mirroring the Iroquois Confederacy, the Albany Plan laid out principles that would eventually be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.