Knight High School

Scope ( $1754\text{--}1800$ ): Focuses on how the French and Indian War changed political and economic ties between Britain and the colonies, setting the stage for the American Revolution.
Duration & Identity:
- The North American theater of the Seven Years' War lasted $9\,\text{years}$ ( $1754\text{--}1763$ ).
- Colonial identity gradually shifted over five generations from English to British to American.
Geographical Escalation:
- Exploration of the Cumberland Gap (navigated by Daniel Boone) allowed settlers to cross the Appalachian Mountains into the Ohio River Valley.
- Colonial expansion threatened Native lands and French fur trade, prompting France to build military forts in disputed territory.

Washington & Franklin ( $1754$ ): George Washington was a $22\,\text{years old}$ militia officer; Benjamin Franklin was a generational elder at $48\,\text{years old}$ .
Apprenticeship System: Legally binding contracts ( $<br>\sim 10\,\text{years}$ ) provided trade education (e.g., Washington apprenticed as a surveyor).
Benjamin Franklin:
- Built a media empire through newspapers, Poor Richard's Almanac, and service as Postmaster General.
- Retired at age $45$ to conduct unpatented scientific research (bifocals, Franklin stove, glass harmonica, electricity experiments).
- Founded the University of Pennsylvania and gained international renown.

Military Escalation: Washington's detachment clashed with French troops in Ohio, triggering conflict that expanded globally in $1756$ .
Consequences:
- British victory removed French protection for Native American tribes against colonial land expansion.
- Displaced French Acadians migrated to Louisiana, establishing Cajun culture.
Albany Congress ( $1754$ ):
- First intercolonial political gathering.
- Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union for centralized defense and published the "Join, or Die" political cartoon.
- Assemblies rejected the plan out of fear of infringing on royal authority.