Building Colonial Unity

By 1774, England and America were very different. England was an aristocracy ruled by an upper class. America was democratic. People succeeded by their own efforts. They were independent. They wanted to rule themselves so they had to organize.

Early Attempts

But it wasn't easy. Britain had tried. In 1640 and 1680, she had tried to form the United Colonies of New England to defend against the Indians and Dutch. The colonies wouldn't cooperate. In 1754, another attempt was made. Representatives from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New England met in Albany, New York. Benjamin Franklin drafted an Albany Plan of Union. It called for a central government to handle taxes, defense, Indian relations, trade and settlement of the West. The colonies still wouldn't cooperate. The next call for an inter-colonial congress came in 1774.