Chronicles the history leading up to the First Continental Congress to the final adjournment of the Second Continental Congress in 1789.
Discusses the seminal work of the Continental Congress, including the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation.
The American Revolution is replete with seminal moments that every American learns in school, from the "shot heard round the world" to the Declaration of Independence, but in many ways the stories of the First and Second Continental Congress have been obscured by other events in revolutionary history.
In the summer of 1774, patriot groups around the 13 colonies communicated with each other and brought about the first council that would unite all of them. That September, 56 delegates who had been chosen by their colonial legislatures to attend the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to craft a united response to the Intolerable Acts, debate the merits of a boycott of British trade, declare their rights, and demand redress. The First Continental Congress eventually petitioned the British government to end the Intolerable Acts while also determining to convene again the following summer.