First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen British American colonies that convened at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774. Called in response to the Intolerable Acts—Parliament's punitive measures against Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party—the Congress represented the first unified colonial response to British imperial policies and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution. The fifty-six delegates included future presidents George Washington and John Adams, as well as Patrick Henry, John Jay, Samuel Adams, and other leaders who would shape the emerging nation. Though the Congress stopped short of declaring independence, it organized an economic boycott of British goods, issued a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, and agreed to reconvene if colonial concerns were not addressed—a decision that led directly to the Second Continental Congress and ultimately to independence.[1]
Background and Causes
[edit | edit source]The crisis that prompted the First Continental Congress had been building for over a decade. Following the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Britain sought to recoup its war expenses and pay for ongoing colonial defense by imposing new taxes on the American colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765 and Townshend Acts of 1767 provoked colonial resistance and were eventually repealed, but the underlying conflict over parliamentary authority remained unresolved. The Tea Act of 1773, which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies, prompted colonists in Boston to board Company ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor—an act of defiance that would be remembered as the Boston Tea Party.[2]
Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party with a series of punitive measures that colonists called the Intolerable Acts or Coercive Acts. The Boston Port Act closed the harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for. The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony's charter and placed it under direct royal control. The Administration of Justice Act allowed British officials accused of crimes to be tried in England rather than colonial courts. The Quartering Act required colonists to house British soldiers in private buildings. These acts, intended to isolate and punish Massachusetts, instead united the colonies in opposition. Colonial leaders recognized that if Parliament could arbitrarily revoke one colony's charter, no colony's rights were secure. Calls arose throughout the summer of 1774 for an intercolonial congress to coordinate the colonial response.[3]
Selection of Delegates
[edit | edit source]Each colony except Georgia selected delegates to attend the Congress, using various methods that reflected local political conditions. Some colonies chose delegates through their provincial assemblies, while others convened special conventions when royal governors attempted to prevent official participation. The delegates represented a range of political views, from radicals like Samuel Adams who already contemplated independence to conservatives who hoped for reconciliation with Britain. Most fell somewhere in between, seeking to defend colonial rights while preserving the connection to the British Empire. The challenge facing the Congress would be to forge consensus among these diverse perspectives.[1]
The quality of the delegates impressed contemporaries and historians alike. Virginia sent George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and Peyton Randolph, who would be elected president of the Congress. Massachusetts dispatched both Samuel Adams, the fiery organizer of colonial resistance, and his more cautious cousin John Adams, who would later describe the Congress as "a collection of the greatest men upon this continent." Pennsylvania's delegation included Joseph Galloway, a conservative who would propose a plan for imperial union, and John Dickinson, author of the influential "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania." The collective experience, intelligence, and political skill of the delegates would prove essential to the Congress's success in navigating the complex challenges it faced.[4]
Proceedings at Carpenters' Hall
[edit | edit source]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.[5]
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.[3]
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.[2]
Declaration and Association
[edit | edit source]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.[1]
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.[6]
Adjournment and Legacy
[edit | edit source]The First Continental Congress adjourned on October 26, 1774, having accomplished its immediate objectives: unifying the colonies in opposition to British policies, organizing an economic boycott, and articulating a principled defense of colonial rights. Before dispersing, the delegates agreed to reconvene on May 10, 1775, if their grievances had not been addressed—a decision that ensured the institutional continuity of intercolonial resistance. The delegates returned to their colonies to organize enforcement of the Association and to prepare for whatever response Britain might make.[3]
The legacy of the First Continental Congress extends far beyond its immediate achievements. The Congress demonstrated that the colonies could act together, overcoming the parochialism and mutual suspicions that had historically divided them. It created precedents and procedures that would guide the Second Continental Congress through the crisis of war and independence. The enforcement committees established under the Association provided experience in self-government that would prove invaluable when royal authority collapsed. Most importantly, the Congress began the process of creating an American political identity—the delegates arrived as Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New Englanders, but they left having taken the first steps toward becoming Americans. The building where they met, Carpenters' Hall, remains open to visitors as a memorial to this pivotal moment in the birth of the nation.[4]