How To Draw The First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress convened in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between September 5 and October 26, 1774. Delegates from twelve of Britain's thirteen American colonies met to discuss America's future under growing British aggression. The list of delegates included many prominent colonial leaders, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, and 2 future presidents of the United States, George Washington and John Adams. Delegates discussed boycotting British goods to establish the rights of Americans and planned for a 2nd Continental Congress.

The Beginning Continental Congress was prompted by the Coercive Acts, known in America equally the Intolerable Acts, which Parliament passed in early on 1774 to reassert its dominance over the American colonies following the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts, among other changes, closed off the Boston Port and rescinded the Massachusetts Charter, bringing the colony nether more directly British command.

Across North America, colonists rose in solidarity with the people of Massachusetts. Goods arrived in Massachusetts from as far south every bit Georgia, and by late jump 1774, nine of the colonies called for a continental congress. Virginia's Commission of Correspondence is largely credited with originating the invitation.

The colonies elected delegates to the First Continental Congress in various ways. Some delegates were elected through their respective colonial legislatures or committees of correspondence. As for Washington, he was elected with the other Virginia delegates at the Beginning Virginia Convention, which was called in support of Massachusetts following the passage of the Intolerable Acts. Georgia was the just colony that did non send whatever delegates to the Starting time Continental Congress. Facing a state of war with neighboring Native American tribes, the colony did not desire to jeopardize British aid.

When Congress convened on September 5, 1774, Peyton Randolph of Virginia was named President of the Showtime Continental Congress. One of the Congress's kickoff decisions was to endorse the Suffolk Resolves passed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The Suffolk Resolves ordered citizens to not obey the Intolerable Acts, to refuse imported British appurtenances, and to raise a militia. Congress'southward early endorsement of the Suffolk Resolves was a clear indication of the mood and spirit in Carpenters' Hall.

Furthermore, the delegates promptly began drafting and discussing the Continental Clan. This would become their virtually important policy consequence. The Clan called for an end to British imports starting in December 1774 and an end to exporting goods to Great britain in September 1775. This policy would be enforced by local and colony-wide committees of inspection. These committees would check ships that arrived in ports, forcefulness colonists to sign documents pledging loyalty to the Continental Association, and suppress mob violence. The committees of inspection even enforced frugality, going so far every bit to end lavish funeral services and parties. Many colonial leaders hoped these efforts would bail the colonies together economically.

Virginia secured the Continental Clan's delay in ending exports to U.k.. Before the Continental Congress, Virginia had passed its ain association that delayed ending exports to avert hurting farmers with a sudden change in policy. The delegates from Virginia showed up to the Continental Congress united, and refused to waiver on the issue of delaying the ban on exports to Uk.

The idea of using non-importation as leverage was neither new nor unexpected. Prior to the Continental Congress, eight colonies had already endorsed the measure and merchants had been warned against placing whatever orders with Britain, as a ban on importation was likely to pass. Some colonies had already created their own associations to ban importation and, in some cases, exportation. The Virginia Association had passed at the Virginia Convention with George Washington in attendance.

Washington's support of using non-importation as leverage confronting the British tin can be traced back as far as 1769 in letters betwixt him and George Mason. When the colonies beginning started publicly supporting non-importation, Bryan Fairfax, a longtime friend of Washington'south, wrote to him urging him to not support the Continental Clan and to instead petition Parliament. Washington dismissed this suggestion, writing "we have already Petitiond his Majesty in as humble, & dutiful a manner as Subjects could exercise."^ane Washington, like many delegates at the Offset Continental Congress, no longer saw petitioning as a useful tool in changing Parliament's ways.

Many delegates felt that using the Continental Association as leverage would be impractical without explicit demands and a plan of redress. Still, Congress struggled to come upward with a list of rights, grievances, and demands. Furthermore, to simply repeal laws that were unfavorable to the delegates without a list of rights would be a temporary set up to the larger result of continued British corruption. To accost these issues, Congress formed a Grand Commission.

All debate was stalled for weeks while a statement of American rights was debated at length. Producing this statement required answering ramble questions that had been asked for over a century. The hardest constitutional question surrounded Uk's right to regulate trade. Joseph Galloway, a conservative consul from Pennsylvania, insisted on releasing a argument clarifying United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland's correct to regulate trade in the American colonies. However, other delegates were opposed to giving Uk explicit rights to colonial merchandise.

During this debate, Galloway introduced A Program of Union betwixt the American Colonies and Uk. The Plan of Union chosen for the creation of a Colonial Parliament that would piece of work mitt-in-hand with the British Parliament. The British monarch would appoint a President General and the colonial assemblies would appoint delegates for a three-year term. Galloway's plan was defeated in a 6-5 vote. Congress put aside the debate over Britain'south correct to regulate merchandise and focused on the Continental Association.

Congress afterward returned to the discussion of Congress'due south right to regulate trade and settled on the original suggested text by the Grand Committee and included information technology as Section iv in the torso's Proclamation of Rights and Grievances. Section four states the "the foundation of English liberty, and of all free authorities, is a right in the people to participate in their legislative council."² This allowed for Congress to move forward in their discussion and affirm their correct to participation in their government, simply did not explicitly identify limits on Parliament's regulation of colonial merchandise.

The Offset Continental Congress's almost fateful determination was to call for a Second Continental Congress to run into the following jump. Congress intended to requite Britain fourth dimension to reply to the Continental Clan and hash out whatever developments at the Second Continental Congress. Washington went shopping for muskets and armed services wearing apparel earlier leaving Philadelphia for Mount Vernon. Furthermore, he placed an order for a book on military subject area. Though state of war had not been declared and many delegates were still hoping for redress, there was no doubtfulness that the American colonies and Britain were on the brink of conflict. Many delegates learned of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), in route to Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress.

Katherine Horan
George Washington University

Notes:

1. "From George Washington to Bryan Fairfax, 20 July 1774," Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June thirteen, 2022, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-10-02-0081. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. ten, 21 March 1774?–?15 June 1775, ed. Westward. Due west. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 128–131.]

ii. United states of america Library of Congress, "Declaration of Rights and Grievances," - The American Revolution, accessed October 29, 2022, http://world wide web.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/rebelln/rights.html.

Bibliography:

Ammerman, David.In the Common Cause American Response to the Coercive Acts of 1774.  New York: Norton, 1975.

Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Showtime Vintage Books, 2004.

Irwin, Benjamin.Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty: The Continental Congress and the People Out of Doors. New York: Oxford, 2022.

Middlekauff, Robert. Washington'southward Revolution: The Making of America'due south Beginning Leader. New York: Random House, 2022.

Source: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-continental-congress/

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