1. Road to Revolution: The French and Indian War
AP US History

2. 150 Years of Salutary Neglect
Since the founding of Jamestown (1608) and Plymouth (1620), the British government had been largely content to leave American colonists alone.
This period of time was known as a period of salutary neglect.
As long as the colonies were economically and politically beneficial to Great Britain, they were allowed to govern themselves.
During this time, the colonists developed a sense of “rugged individualism” and independence.

3. 3,269 mi
Distance from Boston, MA to London, UK

4. Fort Necessity and the Beginning of a World War
In 1752, a twenty year old George Washington was promoted adjutant in the Virginia Colonial Militia.
He was sent in 1753 to give a message to the French who were encroaching into the Ohio valley to leave.
Their response was no and a few months later Washington was sent back to take Fort Duquesene but was forced to hide out in Fort Necessity.
This conflict was the beginning of the French and Indian War, known as the Seven Year’s War in Europe.

7. A Truly World War

8. Can the colonists unite?
In previous American wars, the different British colonies had failed to unite.
In 1754, the British government called a meeting of an intercolonial congress to Albany, New York to win the Iroquois over to the British side.
Yet, the British were also looking to unite the colonies to stand strong against the French.
This group of colonial delegates became known as the “Albany Congress.”

9. Albany Plan of Union
One delegate stood out above the rest in Albany, Benjamin Franklin.
Often known as the ”first American,” Benjamin Franklin would later play an important during and after the Revolutionary War.
In 1754, he proposed the Albany Plan of Union to unite the colonies for home rule.
Although the delegates agreed to this plan, to most colonists it did not give enough independence and to the British, it seemed to give too much.
“All people agreed on the need for union, but their weak noodles were perfectly distracted when they attempted to agree on details”

10. Join or Die

11. Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress (1745).
“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Why He Was A Babe Magnet
Even when he was old and rotund, Ben had sex appeal. He knew the way to a woman's heart was through her head