Effect of the French and Indian War on the Us-British Relationship Leading up to the American Revolution

Although the Royal Crown of Britain promised the American Colonies the settlement of the Ohio River Valley after the French and Indian War, the British failed to uphold their covenant. The French took sides with the Indians to preserve their lands in the Ohio Valley and beyond. The British wanted to drive out the French from North America altogether, and they saw the Native peoples as a roadblock in the way. So, in what ways did the French and Indian War alter political, economic, and social relationships between the Colonies and Britain? The French and Indian War altered Colonial and British relations politically by causing the colonies to create their own Sons of Liberty, economically by taxing the colonies after the war to help pay for it, and socially by giving the colonies their own sense of independence.

The French and Indian War affected the Colonial-British relationship politically by giving them an opportunity and reasons to create their own independent government: The Sons of Liberty. Ben Franklin explained to John Hughs, if the colonists see nothing done for them, then they will then unite (Document G). Franklin explains to Hughs how the way the British were handling the war debt situation would affect the colonies. George Washington received his military knowledge from General Edward Braddock (Document C). By training Washington, the British indirectly helped fuel the fire that was brewing in the colonies. Document A shows the geographical control that the British, French, and Spanish had before and after the war. Benjamin Franklin explained how the hesitation of the British government to act against the Indians in the Ohio valley after the war, after promising to deal with the problem, united the colonies. George Washington, the eventual hero of the American Revolution and first President of the United States of America, asked for military training from General Edward Braddock. This is ironic because Braddock is training his eventual enemy his own fighting and military tactics. The colonies will eventually unite and rally behind Washington. Document A shows the map of the control the British had before and after the war. The French were all but wiped off of North America. The extra land the Redcoats gained made it harder for them to control the colonists. To stop expansion into the Ohio Valley, the only reason Britain fought in the war in the first place, Parliament issued the Proclamation of 1763. The Proclamation drew an imaginary line down the Appalachian Mountains, and said that any settlers moving past the line will not be under protection of the Royal Crown.

The economic effect of the French and Indian War on the British and Colonial relationship ended with the British taxing the colonies to pay for the war, after promising them that the Crown would cover all costs. Canassatego, Chief of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, explained to the white settlers that the Iroquois knew that their lands were becoming more valuable, and that the colonial settlers were illegally settling on the Indian lands (Document B). The British taxing of the colonies was a huge economic effect after the war, and was eventually one of the major causes of the American Revolution a decade later. Ben Franklin explained how the taxing of the colonies would unite the colonies in a letter to John Hughs (Document G). The document shows how the Stamp Act would cause the colonies to unite against British taxation, which will be just, as the British promised to the colonies that they would cover the entire cost of the war as long as the Colonists fought on side of the Redcoats. The French and Indian War was very costly to the British. This is shown in Document H which is a picture of the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser. The picture says “The TIMES are Dreadful, Doleful, Dismal, and DOLLAR-LESS.” It shows how the French and Indian War was costly to the British, and, in turn, to the Colonies, because of the British Stamp, Sugar, and Townshend Acts put onto the colonies. The taxing of the colonies after the French and Indian