<P> In 1754 , representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Stadt Huys , Albany 's city hall , for the Albany Congress ; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union there , which was the first formal proposal to unite the colonies . Although it was never adopted by Parliament , it was an important precursor to the United States Constitution . The same year , the French and Indian War , the fourth in a series of wars dating back to 1689 , began ; it ended in 1763 with French defeat , resolving a situation that had been a constant threat to Albany and held back its growth . In 1775 , with the colonies in the midst of the Revolutionary War , the Stadt Huys became home to the Albany Committee of Correspondence ( the political arm of the local revolutionary movement ) , which took over operation of Albany 's government and eventually expanded its power to control all of Albany County . Tories and prisoners of war were often jailed in the Stadt Huys alongside common criminals . In 1776 , Albany native Philip Livingston signed the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia . </P>
<P> In 1754 , representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Stadt Huys , Albany 's city hall , for the Albany Congress ; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union there , which was the first formal proposal to unite the colonies . Although it was never adopted by Parliament , it was an important precursor to the United States Constitution . The same year , the French and Indian War , the fourth in a series of wars dating back to 1689 , began ; it ended in 1763 with French defeat , resolving a situation that had been a constant threat to Albany and held back its growth . In 1775 , with the colonies in the midst of the Revolutionary War , the Stadt Huys became home to the Albany Committee of Correspondence ( the political arm of the local revolutionary movement ) , which took over operation of Albany 's government and eventually expanded its power to control all of Albany County . Tories and prisoners of war were often jailed in the Stadt Huys alongside common criminals . In 1776 , Albany native Philip Livingston signed the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia . </P>
when did the albany plan of union take place
when did the albany plan of union take place
1754
1754