The
issuance of the Proclamation of 1763 did more than almost anything else
in this period to unite the colonies and push them to discover their
mutual interests. Up until now, some of the largest colonies--New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia--had been squabbling over competing land
claims on the Ohio country. Vague colonial charters failed to
draw an effective western boundary, and all had ambitions to claim the
rich land. During the Albany Congress, when Benjamin Franklin had
proposed a united colonial effort for defense, the colonies had been
unable to come together for fear of losing a future advantage on the
issue of land claims. In one fell swoop, the Proclamation of 1763
removed that bone of contention, while simultaneously giving all these
colonies a common grievance. Now they could turn their attention
from the west to their own situation in the east, and to what Britain
was "up to" there. [I like to use the analogy of a children's
playground to describe this situation. Let's say you have a dozen
children at play, and only one toy. All will be fighting and
competing for the one toy. Now, let's say you, the adult, step in
and take away the toy. No more fighting, yes, but will you have
peace? No way! Because now you have a dozen children angry
at you for taking away their toy! This is more or less what
happened to the "mother country" with respect to the Proclamation of
1763.]