A SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Unit 1: Colonialism and NationhoodPart 10: The French and Indian War

The Five Nations of the Iroquois ConfederacySenecaCayugaOnondagaOneidaMohawkTuscarora (after 1722)

IROQUOIS TRIBES

INDIAN ALLIANCES

• In 1677, the English colonists in North America entered into a formal alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy. The treaties that formed the alliance were known as the Covenant Chain.

• In 1753, the Mohawk tribe broke the Covenant Chain after colonists illegally claimed tribal land in New York.

• The breaking of the Covenant Chain led the Iroquois to stop defending the interests of the English colonists.

INDIAN ALLIANCES

• The Huron people, whose tribal territory lay to the north of the Iroquois Confederacy, were longstanding enemies of the Iroquois. In 1608, they entered into a formal alliance with the French colonists who had begun to settle in Quebec.

• By 1754, then, the English had just lost their alliance with the Iroquois while the French kept their alliance with the Huron.

• The French and Indian War broke out in 1754.

ROBERT DINWIDDIE

• Royal Governor of Virginia, with private economic interests in the Ohio River Valley.

• In 1753, French soldiers began constructing a fort at the forks of the Ohio River in present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Completion of this fort would give the French total control over trade with the Indians of the Ohio River Valley.

• In 1754, Dinwiddie sent Virginian soldiers to expel the French and take over their fort.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

• Appointed by Dinwiddie to lead the charge against the French.

• Washington and his men attacked the French but failed to expel them. As French reinforcements arrived, Washington had few options but to surrender and retreat.

• The dispute between English and French colonists in America meant that England and France were now effectively at war.

THE ALBANY CONGRESS: JUNE 19 TO JULY 11, 1754

To repair the alliance with the Iroquois and to discuss ways of handling the dispute with the French, delegates from the English colonies met in Albany, New York.

They unanimously approved a proposal drafted by Benjamin Franklin to create a union of the colonies which would have the authority to deal with problems of collective security.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

• Philanthropist and public official from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• Wrote books and treatises, published and edited a newspaper, engaged in international diplomacy, conducted scientific experiments, and founded important public institutions.

• Advocated the union of the colonies from 1754 onwards, first in their dispute with France and then in their revolutionary dispute with Great Britain.

MAJOR GENERAL EDWARD BRADDOCKAND THE BRADDOCK EXPEDITION OF 1755

In an attempt to end the dispute with the French, the British Government sent one of its most decorated military strategists to capture the fort. He had never visited America before and his offensive ended in disaster.

BRADDOCK’S DEFEAT AT THE BATTLE OF THE MONONGAHELA

Braddock refused to rely on Indian knowledge of the battle terrain. When he neared the forks of the Ohio River, the French and their Indian allies were hiding in the trees awaiting his arrival. After he was severely wounded, George Washington, who was under his command, tried to impose order on the surviving troops.

FRANKLIN: THE DIPLOMAT WASHINGTON: THE SOLDIER

A SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Unit 1: Colonialism and NationhoodPart 10: The French and Indian War