From the 1600’s to 1700’s, the British colonies in America were divided up into three main regions: the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Although these groups differed from each other culturally and politically, they had similar factors on unifying, yet they also had different factors on unifying. Common factors of unifying amongst all colonial regions were religion and government/politics. Religion would be a major factor in unification and government influence would always make an active attempt at unification. A couple of different ways of unifying were the common threat of attacks and the threat of starvation. The common threat of attacks by Indians and other settlers forced some colonists together, and the threat of starvation…show more content… Governments in all of the colonies actively attempted actions that would increase unity within and around the colonies. Many propositions, plans, and legal documents of this time period heavily emphasized “union.” The idea of union was widespread throughout the colonies and their governments at the time. One of the most famous political cartoons in history and the first to be made entitled Join, or Die, was drawn by Benjamin Franklin to encourage unity. (Doc 6). However, one of the most prominent and recurring political topics during the time was the colony's relationship with Great Britain. William Penn’s Plan of Union in 1697 was proposed with the expressed purpose of becoming more useful to the crown, Great Britain, in order to become more unified (Doc 4). A highly regarded figure during this time was Benjamin Franklin who promoted unity by becoming more united with Great Britain along with the colonies (Doc 7). An example of this is Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union in 1754, which asked for a stronger general government in the Americas, therefore unifying them further by binding to a stronger government (Doc 5). Government and politics as a whole largely influenced unity by pushing towards
