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== Migration and Conflict ==

== Migration and Conflict ==

West of the Appalachian Mountains is the Ohio Valley.  This area was rich in animals necessary for the lucrative fur trade, and covered vast amounts of unsettled land.  The Ohio valley was occupied by Native American tribes, primarily peoples such as the Shawnee and Lenni-Lenape (Delaware) who had been displaced by the Iroquois League.  Both the British and the French traded with the Indians in this region.  As the population and confidence of the English settlers in the colonies grew in the mid-1700s, they began to migrate to Ohio.  There they came into conflict with the French over the fur trade and control of the region.  Conflict between the English colonists and the French traders increased after the end of King George's War in 1748.

West of the Appalachian Mountains is the Ohio Valley.  This area was rich in animals necessary for the lucrative fur trade, and covered vast amounts of unsettled land.  The Ohio Valley was occupied by Native American tribes, primarily peoples such as the Shawnee and Lenni-Lenape (Delaware) who had been displaced by the Iroquois League.  Both the British and the French traded with the Indians in this region.  As the population and confidence of the English settlers in the colonies grew in the mid-1700s, they began to migrate to Ohio.  There they came into conflict with the French over the fur trade and control of the region.  Conflict between the English colonists and the French traders increased after the end of King George's War in 1748.

The governor of Virginia sent a 21-year-old named George Washington to stop the French from building a fort near the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and to protest French attacks.  But in Western Pennsylvania, at Fort Necessity, the French defeated and captured him and his 400 troops.  They made him sign a statement in French (which George Washington did not understand) "confessing" that his men had assassinated some Frenchmen.  Then they released George Washington.  He remembered that lesson and in the Revolutionary War made sure that in the future he always had an aide who could understand French.  That future aide would be the very influential Founding Father named Alexander Hamilton, a brilliant man fluent in French and who had been homeschooled.

While George Washington was humiliated by this experience, that did not matter to the young colonies trying to assert themselves.  When he returned to Virginia, Washington was cheered as their hero.  

In 1754, 7 colonies met to address these problems at the Albany Congress.  They considered, but did not adopt, Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of Union.  The Albany Plan of Union attempted to unite the English colonies with the Iroquois League in a defensive stance against New France.  Franklin published the political cartoon (shown here to the right) in order to urge unity among the colonies.

The governor of Virginia sent a 21-year-old named George Washington to stop the French from building a fort near the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and to protest French attacks.  But in Western Pennsylvania, at Fort Necessity, the French defeated and captured him and his 400 troops.  They made him sign a statement in French (which George Washington did not understand) "confessing" that his men had assassinated some Frenchmen.  Then they released George Washington.  He remembered that lesson and in the Revolutionary War made sure that in the future he always had an aide who could understand French.  That future aide would be the very influential Founding Father named Alexander Hamilton, who had been homeschooled.

In all of American history, George Washington is the most honored person.  Why was he so great?  He was not personally a brilliant man.  He inspired his soldiers as a military general, but in terms of military strategy he was not particularly good.  He was somewhat inept during the French and Indian War, for example.  He never wrote much of value, and his most famous writings (such as his Farewell Address) were written by others (Alexander Hamilton wrote that one).  Try to understand as you learn more about George Washington why he is so beloved.  Most likely he was great because of his values, and how everyone knew he would stick to his principles and take the lead in defending them.

 

 

George Washington is the most honored person in all of American history.  Why was he so great?  Was he so great?  He was not a brilliant man.  He was not a great military general.  In terms of military strategy, he was not particularly good.  He was inept during the French and Indian War, for example.  He did not write much of value.  Think about that as we learn more about him.  Most likely he was great because of his values, and how everyone knew he would stick to his principles.

'''Debate: [[George Washington]].  Was he great, and if so, why?'''

'''Debate: [[George Washington]].  Was he great, and if so, why?'''