Editing First Continental Congress (section)

== Declaration and Association ==

The Congress produced two major documents that defined the colonial position and organized resistance. The Declaration of Rights and Grievances, adopted on October 14, 1774, enumerated the rights that colonists claimed as British subjects and catalogued the acts of Parliament that violated those rights. The Declaration grounded colonial rights in natural law, the British constitution, and colonial charters, rejecting Parliament's authority to tax the colonies or legislate for their internal governance. While affirming allegiance to the Crown, the Declaration drew clear limits on imperial power and demanded repeal of the offending acts. It was addressed to "the inhabitants of the British colonies in America" rather than to Parliament or the King, signaling that the Congress sought to rally colonial opinion rather than negotiate with imperial authorities.<ref name="ammerman"/>

The Continental Association, adopted on October 20, 1774, established an organized economic boycott of British goods. The Association prohibited importation of British goods after December 1, 1774, banned consumption of British goods after March 1, 1775, and threatened to halt exports to Britain if colonial grievances were not addressed by September 1775. Crucially, the Association created enforcement mechanisms: each community was to elect committees to monitor compliance and publish the names of violators. These committees became the foundation of revolutionary government at the local level, replacing colonial institutions that depended on British authority. The Association transformed the resistance from elite politics to popular mobilization, drawing ordinary colonists into active participation in the movement that would become the Revolution.<ref name="breen">{{cite book |last=Breen |first=T.H. |title=The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York}}</ref>