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The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution. The Congress met from 1774 to 1789 in two incarnations. They were followed by the Confederation Congress, which legally was a wholly distinct institution, but by and large continued the previous assembly's functions under a continuous leadership.

First Continental Congress

Main article: First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress, which met briefly in Philadelphia in 1774, consisted of 56 delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Convened in response to the Coercive Acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774, the delegates organized an economic boycott of Great Britain in protest and petitioned the king for a redress of grievances.

Second Continental Congress

Main article: Second Continental Congress

By the time the Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia, shooting in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) had begun. Moderates in the Congress still hoped that the colonies could be reconciled with Great Britain, but a movement towards independence steadily gained ground. Congress established the Continental Army (June 1775), coordinated the war effort, issued a Declaration of Independence in July 1776, and designed a new government in the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781.

Confederation Congress

Main article: Congress of the Confederation

The ratification of the Articles of Confederation ceated an entirely new system of government, uniting the states into one republic, and gave the Congress a new name: the Congress of the Confederation, which met from 1781 to 1789. The Confederation Congress helped guide the United States through the final stages of the war, but in peacetime the Congress declined in importance. Under the Articles, the Confederation Congress had little power to compel the individual states to comply with its decisions. Increasingly, delegates elected to the Congress declined to serve, the leading men in each state preferred to serve in state government, and the Congress had difficulty establishing a quorum. When the Articles were replaced by the United States Constitution, the Confederation Congress was superseded by the United States Congress.

Timeline

1774

• September 5: First Continental Congress convened
• October 14: Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress adopted
• October 18: Continental Association adopted
• October 25: First Petition to the King signed
• October 26: Congress adjourned, resolving to reconvene the following May if grievances are not redressed

1775

• April 19: War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord
• May 10: Second Continental Congress convened
• June 14: Congress established the Continental Army
• June 15: Congress appointed one of its members, George Washington, as commander of the Continental Army
• July 1: King George III Addresses Parliament stating they will "put a speedy end" to the rebellion
• July 6: Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms approved
• July 8: Second petition to the king (the Olive Branch Petition) signed

1776

• January 10: Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
• July 2: Resolution of independence adopted, asserting the independence of the colonies from Britain
• July 4: Final text of the United States Declaration of Independence approved
• August 2: Declaration of Independence signed in Congress

1777

• November 15: Congress issues the Articles of Confederation to the states for approval

1781

• March 1: Articles of Confederation go into effect, Congress becomes the Congress of the Confederation

1787

• September 17: Philadelphia Convention adjourns after writing the United States Constitution

1788

• July 2: New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the US Constitution, thereby allowing for the creation of the new government.
• July 8: Continental Congress puts the new Constitution into effect by announcing the dates for the elections and the assembly of the new Congress.

1789

• March 2: Last session of the Continental Congress adjourned sine die. Phillip Pell of New York was the sole member in attendance.
• March 4: : First session of the 1st United States Congress begins.
• April 30: George Washington inaugurated as first President of the United States.
• July 23: Charles Thomson transmitted to President Washington his resignation of the office of Secretary of Congress.
• July 25: In accordance with President Washington's directions, "the books, records, and papers of the late Congress, the Great Seal of the Federal Union, and the Seal of the Admiralty" were delivered over to Roger Alden, deputy secretary of the new Congress, who had been designated by President Washington as custodian for the time being. This marked the last act of the Continental Congress.^[1]

Notes

References

• Burnett, Edward Cody. The Continental Congress. New York: Norton, 1941.
• Henderson, H. James. Party Politics in the Continental Congress. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974. ISBN 0070281432.
• Rakove, Jack N. The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress. New York: Knopf, 1979. ISBN 0801828643

Further reading

• Smith, Paul H., ed. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789. 26 volumes. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1976–1998.

External links

• Journals of the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774 to March 2, 1789