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The Road to Independence (1753–1783)
C H A P T E R
4
SECTION 1
THE FRENCH
AND INDIAN WAR
TEXT SUMMARY
THE
BIG
IDEA
The French and
Indian War brought
about increased
tensions between
American colonists
and Great Britain.
The French and Indian War,
between the British and their
colonies and the French and their
Indian allies, began in 1754 and
was the result of the struggle
among the British, French, and
Native Americans for control of
North American lands.
As the war began, a group of
delegates from seven northern
GRAPHIC SUMMARY:
Land Claims after the French
and Indian War, 1763
colonies met in Albany, New York, to try to
form a union of the colonies for the war
effort. Called the Albany Plan of Union,
it was rejected by all the colonies because
they did not want too much power in a
central government. However, the plan was
a model for the future U.S. government.
After early defeats, the British and the
colonial militia, armed citizens who
serve as soldiers in an emergency, began
to win. The tide of war turned as the
British sent better-prepared and better-led
soldiers. Seizing most French forts along
the St. Lawrence River, the British finally
laid siege to the city of Quebec. British
troops surrounded the city and its defenders surrendered. In the Treaty of Paris
(1763), the French turned over Canada
to the British and surrendered its claims
to almost all lands in North America.
The war strained relations between the
British, who thought the colonists had
not contributed enough, and the
colonists, who thought British military
power was weak. The colonists also felt
the British had not treated them with
enough respect, and now that the French
were gone from the west, the colonists
wanted to move onto these lands and
prosper without British restraints.
After the French and Indian
War, France was no longer a
major power in North America.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How did the Treaty of Paris affect
French power in North America?
20
CHAPTER 4
Guide to the Essentials
2. Map Skills Which European
country claimed Canada after the
French and Indian War?
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