New England Population Growth In The 18th Century Essay
New England experienced a huge population growth during the 18th century, rising from 250,000 colonists in 1700 to over 2 million in 1770. The growth and diversity of the colonial population in the eighteenth century stemmed from both natural increases and immigration, which shifted the ethnic and racial balance of the colonies. The colonial economy also expanded during the eighteenth century. In 1700, nearly all the colonist lived within fifty miles of the Atlantic coast. The almost limitless wilderness stretching westward made land relatively cheap; land used for agriculture was worthless without labor and with rapidly expanding economy demand for labor in the colonies was high. The burgeoning New England population grew mostly by natural
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Albany Plan of Union Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts coauthored the Albany Plan of Union, which proposed a unified but limited government over all the colonies to formulate Indian policy and coordinate colonial military forces; the plan called for a president-general appointed by the crown and a grand council who would meet annually to consider questions of war, peace, and trade with the Indians; the plan still affirmed Parliamentary authority; delegates approved the plan, but no colonies approved it; colonies argued it was too strong or that it would be impossible for all colonies to agree; the British and the Indians rejected it as well. General Edward Braddock marched his army toward Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania; accompanied by Washington and his Virginia soldiers, Braddock led 2,000 troops into the backcountry in July 1755. Braddock’s Defeat One day before reaching the fort, the British were ambushed by 250 French soldiers and 640 Indian warriors; the Battle of Monongahela ended with nearly a thousand British soldiers killed or wounded, including General Braddock; the defeat stunned British leaders; they stumbled for the next two years, deploying inadequate numbers of
Albany Plan of Union Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts coauthored the Albany Plan of Union, which proposed a unified but limited government over all the colonies to formulate Indian policy and coordinate colonial military forces; the plan called for a president-general appointed by the crown and a grand council who would meet annually to consider questions of war, peace, and trade with the Indians; the plan still affirmed Parliamentary authority; delegates approved the plan, but no colonies approved it; colonies argued it was too strong or that it would be impossible for all colonies to agree; the British and the Indians rejected it as well. General Edward Braddock marched his army toward Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania; accompanied by Washington and his Virginia soldiers, Braddock led 2,000 troops into the backcountry in July 1755. Braddock’s Defeat One day before reaching the fort, the British were ambushed by 250 French soldiers and 640 Indian warriors; the Battle of Monongahela ended with nearly a thousand British soldiers killed or wounded, including General Braddock; the defeat stunned British leaders; they stumbled for the next two years, deploying inadequate numbers of