Benjamin Franklin has been called the greatest Enlightenment thinker on this side of the Atlantic. In political matters, Franklin may have envisioned the future of the thirteen colonies better than anyone. His 1754 Albany Plan of Union was a daring first step in bringing together the colonies under one central government. Although rejected by colonial governments and the English Parliament, it represented a prophetic look at what Franklin felt was an inevitable future.

Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Plan

Franklin’s plan called for the establishment of a Grand Council, led by a President-General appointed by the king. Members of the Grand Council would be elected by colonial assemblies and serve for three years. The Grand Council would meet in Philadelphia once a year for a six week period and could not be dissolved “without their own consent or the special command of the crown” (point 7). The Council would have specific powers:

  • Power to choose their Speaker.
  • Power to regulate Indian trade.
  • Power to make land purchases from Indians.
  • Power to make new settlements and to make laws governing those settlements.
  • Power to raise and pay soldiers and build forts to protect the colonies.
  • Power to equip ships to guard the coasts and protect trade.
  • Power to levy taxes for the above noted endeavors.
  • Power to appoint a General Treasurer.
  • Power to ratify military commissions.

Members of the Grand Council were to be paid for their services and the general constitution elaborating the plan of union was not to interfere with the individual colonial assemblies or their governors.