The Albany Plan of Union.-An attempt at a general colonial union was made in 1754.On the suggestion of the Lords of Trade in England，a conference was held at Albany to consider Indian relations，to devise measures of defense against the French，and to enter into "articles of union and confederation for the general defense of his Majesty's subjects and interests in North America as well in time of peace as of war."New Hampshire，Massachusetts，Connecti-cut，Rhode Island，New York，Pennsylvania，and Maryland were represented.After a long discussion，a plan of union，drafted mainly，it seems，by Benjamin Franklin，was adopted and sent to the colonies and the crown for approval.The colonies，jealous of their individual rights，refused to accept the scheme and the king disapproved it for the reason，Franklin said，that it had "too much weight in the democratic part of the constitution."Though the Albany union failed，the document is still worthy of study because it forecast many of the perplexing problems that were not solved until thirty-three years afterward，when another convention of which also Franklin was a member drafted the Constitution of the United States.
Benjamin Franklin
The Military Education of the Colonists.-The same wars that showed the provincials the mean-ing of union likewise instructed them in the art of defending their institutions.Particularly was this true of the last French and Indian conflict，which stretched all the way from Maine to the Carolinas and made heavy calls upon them all for troops.The answer，it is admitted，was far from satisfactory to the British government and the conduct of the mi-litiamen was far from professional；but thousands of Americans got a taste，a strong taste，of actual fighting in the field.Men like George Washingtonand Daniel Morgan learned lessons that were not forgotten in after years.They saw what American militiamen could do under favorable circumstances and they watched British regulars operating on American soil."This whole transac-tion，"shrewdly remarked Franklin of Braddock's campaign，"gave us Ameri-cans the first suspicion that our exalted ideas of the prowess of British regular troops had not been well founded."It was no mere accident that the Virginia colonel who drew his sword under the elm at Cambridge and took command of the army of the Revolution was the brave officer who had "spurned the whistle of bullets"at the memorable battle in western Pennsylvania.
Financial Burdens and Commercial Disorder.-While the provincials were learning lessons in warfare they were also paying the bills.All the conflicts were costly in treasure as in blood.King Philip's war left New England weak and al-most bankrupt.The French and Indian struggle was especially expensive.The twenty-five thousand men put in the field by the colonies were sustained only by huge outlays of money.Paper currency streamed from the press and debts were accumulated.Commerce was driven from its usual channels and prices were enhanced.When the end came，both England and America were stagger-ing under heavy liabilities，and to make matters worse there was a fall of prices accompanied by a commercial depression which extended over a period of ten years.It was in the midst of this crisis that measures of taxation had to be de-vised to pay the cost of the war，precipitating the quarrel which led to American independence.
The Expulsion of French Power from North America.-The effects of the defeat administered to France，as time proved，were difficult to estimate.Some British statesmen regarded it as a happy circumstance that the colonists，already restive under their administration，had no foreign power at hand to aid them in case they struck for independence.American leaders，on the other hand，now that the soldiers of King Louis were driven from the continent，thought that they had no other country to fear if they cast off British sovereign-ty.At all events，France，though defeated，was not out of the sphere of American influence；for，as events proved，it was the fortunate French alliance negotiated by Franklin that assured the triumph of American arms in the War of the Revo-lution.
Colonial Relations with the British GovernmentIt was neither the Indian wars nor the French wars that finally brought forth American nationality.That was the product of the long strife with the mother country which culminated in union for the war of independence.The forces that created this nation did not operate in the colonies alone.The character of the English sovereigns，the course of events in English domestic politics，and English measures of control over the colonies-executive，legislative，and judicial-must all be taken into account.
The Last of the Stuarts.-The struggles between Charles I （1625-49）and the parliamentary party and the turmoil of the Puritan régime （1649-60）so en-grossed the attention of Englishmen at home that they had little time to think of colonial policies or to interfere with colonial affairs.The restoration of the monarchy in 1660，accompanied by internal peace and the increasing power of the mercantile classes in the House of Commons，changed all that.In the reignof Charles II （1660-85），himself an easy-going person，the policy of regulating trade by act of Parliament was developed into a closely knit system and power-ful agencies to supervise the colonies were created.At the same time a system of stricter control over the dominions was ushered in by the annulment of the old charter of Massachusetts which conferred so much self-government on the Puritans.