The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin · Chapter
Albany Plan of Union explained
In 1754, as war with France loomed, a congress of colonial commissioners assembled at Albany to confer with the Six Nations.
What happens
In 1754, as war with France loomed, a congress of colonial commissioners assembled at Albany to confer with the Six Nations. Benjamin Franklin, appointed as a commissioner for Pennsylvania, drafted a plan for uniting the colonies under a single government for defense and general purposes. His plan was preferred by the committee, unanimously adopted by the Congress, and transmitted to the Board of Trade and colonial assemblies. However, it was rejected by the assemblies for having too much prerogative and by England for being too democratic. Franklin reflects that the plan, if adopted, might have prevented the later taxation disputes and the bloody conflict that followed.
Themes in this chapter
Public Service and Civic Duty
Franklin's role as a commissioner and his initiative in drafting a plan for colonial union exemplify his commitment to public service and the common defense.
Practical Wisdom and Common Sense
Franklin's plan was a pragmatic solution to the need for coordinated defense, and his reflection that 'the best public measures are seldom adopted from previous wisdom, but forced by the occasion' underscores his practical approach.
Social Mobility and the American Dream
Franklin, a self-made man, rose to a position where he could influence colonial policy, reflecting the American Dream of upward mobility through merit and initiative.
Characters to notice
- Benjamin Franklin
Projected and drew the Albany Plan of Union, presented it to the Congress, and later discussed it with Governor Shirley.
- Andrew Hamilton
Governor of Pennsylvania who received the order for the congress and named Franklin as a commissioner.
- James Morris
Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, named as a commissioner alongside Franklin.
- Thomas Penn
Commissioner from Pennsylvania to the Albany Congress.
- Richard Peters
Secretary and commissioner from Pennsylvania to the Albany Congress.
- James Alexander
Gentleman of great knowledge in public affairs with whom Franklin discussed his plan in New York.
- Captain Kennedy
Gentleman of great knowledge in public affairs with whom Franklin discussed his plan in New York.
- General Shirley
Governor of Massachusetts with whom Franklin had conversation about the plans in Boston.
Key passages
“In 1754, war with France being again apprehended, a congress of commissioners from the different colonies was, by an order of the Lords of Trade, to be assembled at Albany, there to confer with the chiefs of the Six Nations concerning the means of defending both their country and ours.”
In 1754, fearing another war with France, the Lords of Trade ordered a congress of colonial commissioners to meet at Albany to discuss defense strategies with the Six Nations chiefs.
Sets the stage for the Albany Congress and its purpose.
“In our way thither, I projected and drew a plan for the union of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for defense, and other important general purposes.”
On the way to Albany, I devised and wrote a plan to unite all the colonies under a single government for defense and other key common interests.
Franklin describes the origin of his Albany Plan.
“Its fate was singular; the assemblies did not adopt it, as they all thought there was too much prerogative in it, and in England it was judged to have too much of the democratic.”
The plan met a unique fate: colonial assemblies rejected it for giving too much power to the Crown, while England thought it gave too much power to the people.
Explains the dual rejection of Franklin's plan.
“The colonies, so united, would have been sufficiently strong to have defended themselves; there would then have been no need of troops from England; of course, the subsequent pretence for taxing America, and the bloody contest it occasioned, would have been avoided.”
If the colonies had been united under the plan, they could have defended themselves without British troops, which would have removed the excuse for taxing America and prevented the ensuing war.
Franklin's retrospective belief that the plan could have averted the American Revolution.
