1. Factors That Led to Exploration
Lesson 2.4: The American Identity Develops

2. Review
Explain the regional differences of the 13 colonies in terms of economics.
New England Colonies:
Middle Colonies:
Southern Colonies:

4. Essential Question
How did the French and Indian War & the Great Awakening help to create an American identity?

5. Activating
Before the colonists begin to expand westward, they must first develop an “American Identity”. From a personal level, why is it important to know what you stand for as a person before you graduate from High School and leave home?

6. Albany Plan of the Union
Key Vocabulary
Albany Plan of the Union

7. The French & Indian War 1654-1763

8. A War About Expansion
The Seven Years War in Europe spills into conflicts arising between the French/Native Americans vs. the English.
Americans were tied to the British due to receiving protection from the French and Natives.
Both the French and the British wanted control over the Ohio River Valley. This led to a war that emerged around expansion.

9. The Beginning of Colonial Discontent
The American militia bore the brunt of the war for the first two years.
American colonists began to realize that their interests did not coincide with the British.
Furthermore, it became evident that the British felt themselves superior to the colonists.
George Washington himself began to hate the British due to poor treatment at the hands of the British.

10. Assessment Prompt 1

11. French & Indian War: The Albany Plan of the Union
As a result of the French and Indian war, the Albany Plan of Union was a proposal to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies, that was suggested by Benjamin Franklin in July 1754.
Representatives of several colonies had gathered to plan their defense related to the French and Indian War. The Plan represented an early attempt to form a union of the colonies "under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes."[1

12. Assessment Prompt 2
Describe the Albany Plan of the Union in one sentence.

13. Proclamation of 1763

14. Proclamation of 1763: A Consequence of the French & Indian War
After the British & colonial victory in the French & Indian War, the British proclaimed that colonists were not allowed to expand west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The British ”claimed” that they were protecting the colonists from the Indians.
Yet concerns over the debt “was the tail wagging the dog.”

15. A Matter of Control
American colonists viewed the proclamation as an attempt to control them.
Colonists had become accustomed to “calling the shots” due to the British policy of salutary neglect.
The French & Indian War along with the Proclamation of 1763 would mark the beginning of a period of American identity that would demand a government “for the people, by the people.”

16. Assessment Prompt 2
Read “The Proclamation of 1763 and Greenville’s Reforms” on page 57. Then in your pairs, answer the following questions in your learning log.
1) At what physical barrier did the Proclamation of set the western boundary of the colonies?
2) Why do you think colonists wanted to move west of that boundary?
3) Summarize how the Proclamation of helped to form an American Identity.

17. The Great Awakening: Revivals of the 1730’s & 1740s

18. The Great Awakening
This was the first mass movement of the American colonists.
This movement was a direct challenge to the British king and the Anglican Church.

19. The Great Awakening Leads to American Identity
The Great Awakening managed to break down sectional barriers and an rise of emotional spirituality.
The formation of new denominations also lead to competitions between churches and parishioners.

20. Primary Source Document
The Trial of John Peter Zenger, page 46.
What point is Hamilton making when he says that a “man can make very free with his God” but must be careful what he says about the Governor?
What does Hamilton say will happen if people are not allowed to express opinions about those in Government?

21. Assessment Prompt 3: the Great Awakening

22. Assignment
Imagine that the President of the United States has decided that he wants to create a new American flag, and he has asked you to design it.
Step 1: List 3 things that you believe represent our American identity today.
Step 2: Using your list, create a new flag that shows scenes or symbols that depict your ideas about our identity as a nation.

23. Journal
How did the French & Indian War, the Proclamation Line of 1763, and the Great Awakening help form an American identity?
What is the connection between the formation of an American identity and the factors that led to American expansion?