Abany Plan Pros And Cons

1759 Words8 Pages

Though colonists tried to work with the system of government set in place by their parent country, the began to flock towards a republican ideology. Although accepting of the English constitution and even supported its values, colonists came to worry about corruption. To them the monarchy represented power and with that power came corruption. In order to keep from being taken advantage of, the colonists would need more power in the government. Being colonists, they didn’t have the capability to influence Great Britain or to elect their own governors. However, without any uniformity amongst the thirteen unique colonies, they would have little luck achieving power. Beginning these talks of union members of the colonies came together at the Albany …show more content…

Instead, they needed an improved form of defense for the colonies, but Benjamin Franklin wanted to take things a step further. His plan was more than just a way to protect the colonies from Native Americans, it unified the colonies under a central government and gave this government an important power, the power of tax. Seemingly simple at first the capacity to tax would have given the colonies a way to watch over themselves without the interruption of the king’s needs. However, while this plan may have helped to bridge the expanding gap between the colonies and Britain, it was unused as both sides disagreed upon it. Although not an accepted plan, the Albany Plan shows how Benjamin Franklin hoped to provide the best changes to the colonies without any dangerous and drastic action. With this first major role in the unification of the colonies, Franklin continued to introduce more political ideas to his home along with a strew of …show more content…

Earlier in his life his brother was imprisoned for his newspaper because it “gave offense to the Assembly”. Although only imprisoned for a month, this was a huge injustice on what Franklin saw as basic human rights. Later in Benjamin Franklin’s life he had another experience with the freedom of speech being restrained. During his second time living in London, Benjamin Franklin came across letters from governors in the colonies that warned of the colonies losing dependence on Britain. Concerned with what the letters contained, Franklin sent them to a friend in Boston with explicit instructions not to have them published. Even with these instructions, the letters were published in a Boston newspaper causing uproar in the colonies. In an attempt to “prevent further mischief”, Franklin published a letter of his own claiming responsibility for the disclosure. Franklin’s reasoning for allowing the letters to be published was that they were written by public officials and therefore, public themselves. Resulting from Benjamin Franklin taking responsibility for the leak, as well as recent events like the Boston Tea Party, a hearing was called for Franklin. Through the trials, Benjamin Franklin was reduced to a petty criminal for his actions and quickly lost faith in the British government turning instead towards American independence. When