First Continental Congress
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The First Continental Congress was a body of representatives appointed by the legislatures of twelve North American colonies of Great Britain in 1774.
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[edit] Background
Like the Stamp Act Congress, which was formed by colonials to respond to the unpopular Stamp Act, the First Continental Congress was formed largely in response to the Intolerable Acts. The Congress was planned through the permanent committees of correspondence. They chose the meeting place to be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in Carpenters' Hall, which was both centrally located and one of the leading cities in the colonies.
[edit] Convention
The Congress met from September 5, 1774, to October 26, 1774. From September 5 through October 21, Peyton Randolph presided over the proceedings; Henry Middleton took over as President of the Congress for the last few days, from October 22 to October 26.
The Congress had two primary accomplishments. First, the Congress drafted the Articles of Association on October 20, 1774. The Articles formed a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods, and to cease exports to Britain as well if the “Intolerable Acts” were not repealed. The boycott was successfully implemented, but its potential at altering British colonial policy was cut off by the outbreak of open fighting in 1775.
Its second accomplishment was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet on May 10, 1775. In addition to the colonies which had sent delegates to the First Continental Congress, letters of invitation were sent to Quebec, Saint John's Island, Nova Scotia, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida. Georgia did not send delegates.
[edit] Colonies and delegates
[edit] See also
- Articles of Confederation
- Galloway's Plan of Union
- History of the United States (1776-1789)
- List of Continental Congress Delegates
- President of the Continental Congress
- Continental Association
[edit] Further reading
- Burnet, Edmund C. [1941] (1975). The Continental Congress. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0-8371-8386-3.
- Henderson, H. James [1974] (2002). Party Politics in the Continental Congress. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8191-6525-5.
- Montross, Lynn [1950] (1970). The Reluctant Rebels; the Story of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-389-03973-X.
[edit] External links
- The Continental Congress - History, Declaration and Resolves, Resolutions and Recommendations
- Full text of Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789
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1774: First Continental Congress · Articles of Association 1775: Independence Hall · Second Continental Congress 1776: Betsy Ross Flag · United States Declaration of Independence · Pennsylvania Constitution · Washington's crossing of the Delaware 1777: Articles of Confederation · Philadelphia campaign · Battle of Brandywine · Battle of the Clouds · Liberty Bell moved to Allentown · Paoli massacre · Battle of Germantown · Siege of Fort Mifflin · Battle of White Marsh · Battle of Matson's Ford · Valley Forge 1778: Battle of Crooked Billet · Battle of Barren Hill · Philadelphia recaptured · Wyoming Valley battle and massacre 1781: Congress of the Confederation |
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| First Continental Congress | 1774 | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Second Continental Congress | 1775 to 1781 | Philadelphia → Baltimore → Lancaster → York |
| Congress of the Confederation | 1781 to 1789 | Philadelphia → Princeton → Annapolis → Trenton → New York |
| United States Congress | 1789 to date | New York → Philadelphia → Washington |
