Slide 1 French and Indian War 1754 1763

Slide 1 French and Indian War 1754 -1763 Britain and France Fighting to Maintain the Balance Of Power in the Colonies

Slide 2 Tensions Explode! France and England, by the late 17 th century were at war, almost continuously, both in Europe and in the New World n Land = Power and neither was willing to budge an inch n

Slide 3 Results of Prolonged Conflicts n Many colonial men died n Enormous debt n Britain establishes large navy and standing army n England excites a jingoist* sense of nationalism *ready to rage war; belligerent

Slide 4 Ohio River Valley Both Britain and France claimed this land as theirs. n Adjunct-general of Virginia, Major George Washington tried to warn off French – failed n British build a fort on Ohio River n French come, destroy that fort, build a bigger fort – Ft. Duquesne n

Slide 5 Washington, 1754 Heads off with a few men and Indian allies n Meets a French regiment at Great Meadows – first shots of this long war n Washington retreated, but he became world famous at the age of 22! n

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Slide 7 The Albany Congress June 19 – July 10, n Plan of Union- a 1754 in Albany, N. Y. way to unite the colonies in both n All colonies from military and Maryland north met government to discuss precautions and n Plan was rejected tactics both by the crown and the colonies n Ben Franklin suggests his Plan of Union n

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Slide 9 General Braddock’s Defeat Commander-in-chief of British forces in America n Planned attack on Ft. Duquesne n Thousands of Indians and Frenchmen dressed as Indians jump out of woods n Braddock is killed and most of Britain's supplies and artillery were abandoned. n

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Slide 11 Quebec 1759 This was the most decisive battle of the war n Britain devastated the French forces n This battle virtually ended French power in North America for all time n

Slide 12 Peace of Paris, 1763 Ended the war and French presence in North America n Britain takes all French possessions east of the Mississippi and Spanish Florida. n France gave Spain Louisiana n

Slide 13 Britain’s Irony n In gaining Canada, the British put a plan into action that will result in their loss of all the rest of British North America – The American Revolution!

Slide 14 American, not British n After the war, more colonists see themselves as American, rather than British n Many of the soldiers, esp. those from New England, became convinced of their moral superiority to the British soldier

Slide 15 Writs of Assistance n n n These were issued by Britain They were general search warrants that allowed officers to enter any place during daylight to seek evidence of illegal trade Many colonists were still trading with France (molasses) James Otis was hired to fight these writs in court He lost, but made the provocative argument that these acts from Parliament should be seen as “instruments of slavery” in violation of the British constitution and therefore void!

Slide 16 Problems Who should manage the defense of these new possessions? 2. What should be done about the western lands inhabited by Indians, but coveted by whites? 3. How should the British handle the debt of the war? 4. What role should the colonists play in all of this? 1.

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Slide 18 Proclamation of 1763 n This drew a line along the crest of the Appalachians beyond which white settlers were forbidden to go n This line did not stay intact long due to various, dubious treaties made with Indians n Many hardy settlers headed west!

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