French And Indian War Dbq

The French and Indian War was one of the bloodiest war fought on American soil that consolidated British dominance in the Western Hemisphere. It was also the precursor to the American Revolution, where colonists demanded freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from Great Britain. Among the major leaders of the revolution, Benjamin Franklin stood out as a more experienced politician due to his experiences in the French and Indian War and his dealings with the proprieties and governors of Pennsylvania. During this time, Franklin also gained reputation as a scientist who performed an experiment that discovered the nature of lightning and electricity using a kite. Furthermore, Franklin introduced the idea of self-determination to the colonies,

Realizing the need for the colonies to have military self-defense, Franklin proposed a plan of unifying the colonies under one government without creating a revolution. According to the autobiography, Franklin stated, “By this plan the general government was to be administered by a president-general, appointed and supported by the crown, and a grand council was to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the several colonies, met in their respective assemblies.” Even though the Governor of Pennsylvania liked the idea, it was considered too democratic by the Parliament of England and too undemocratic by the radicals in the Albany Conference. As a result, Pennsylvania voted not to consider the plan as one of their options to handle the incoming French soldiers. By looking at this incident, I drew a lesson about Franklin’s vision for American self-government. I learned about the importance of persistence and consistence regarding expressing my own ideas. Even though Benjamin Franklin’s idea of creating a union of the colonies was denounced by both the Assembly and the Parliament, Franklin never gave up the idea of freedom and liberty for the colonists, which allowed the Founding Fathers, decades later, to establish the United States of

In response, Governor Denny decided to send Franklin to London as a representative to petition the king about tax grievances. However, his journey was interrupted by Lord Loudoun, who wished to negotiate a compromise between the Governor and the Assembly. He wanted Franklin to raise the Proprietors’ own defense money for the frontier since he believed that no English troops would be available for that area. Franklin responded by stating that the Assembly would pass a tax bill that the Governor would sign, but would state accordingly that the action was taken under pressure, and over the strongest opposition. This infuriated Loudoun and caused Franklin’s boat to be detained for three months before he could leave for London. Loudoun even permanently delayed repaying the amount of money Franklin spent for Braddock’s provisions. Nevertheless, Franklin arrived in London and began to schedule an appointment with Lord Granville, President of King’s Council, through a Virginia merchant named John Hanbury. According to the autobiography, Granville stated, “You Americans have wrong ideas of the nature of your constitution; you contend that the kind’s instructions to his governors are not laws. and think yourselves at liberty to regard or disregard them at your own discretion. But those instructions are not like the pocket instructions