Editing First Continental Congress (section)

== Proceedings at Carpenters' Hall ==

The Congress convened on September 5, 1774, at [[Carpenters' Hall]], a recently completed guildhall offered by the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia. The choice of venue carried political significance: the Pennsylvania State House (later [[Independence Hall]]) had been offered by the conservative colonial assembly, and selecting Carpenters' Hall signaled the Congress's alignment with more assertive resistance to British policies. The delegates elected Peyton Randolph of Virginia as president and Charles Thomson, a Philadelphia merchant known for his radical views, as secretary. Thomson would serve as secretary throughout the Continental Congress's existence, maintaining its records through the Revolutionary War and beyond.<ref name="tinkcom">{{cite book |last=Tinkcom |first=Harry M. |title=The Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia |year=1961 |publisher=Carpenters' Company |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

Early debates addressed fundamental procedural questions that would shape the Congress's character. The delegates decided that each colony would have one vote, regardless of population—a principle that would persist through the Articles of Confederation and influence the structure of the Senate under the Constitution. They agreed to conduct proceedings in secret, allowing delegates to speak freely without fear of public pressure or British surveillance. These decisions reflected the delegates' understanding that they were engaged in something unprecedented: creating a representative body for a collection of colonies that had never before acted in concert.<ref name="rakove"/>

The most significant substantive debate concerned the proper response to the Intolerable Acts. Joseph Galloway proposed a Plan of Union that would create an American legislature with authority over intercolonial affairs, operating alongside but subordinate to Parliament. The plan attracted considerable support from delegates seeking accommodation with Britain, but it was ultimately rejected by a narrow margin and expunged from the official record. The rejection of Galloway's plan marked a turning point, signaling that the Congress would pursue confrontation rather than compromise in defending colonial rights. Galloway himself would become a Loyalist during the Revolution, fleeing to England and forfeiting his Pennsylvania estates.<ref name="middlekauff"/>