10 What Event Would Cause the First Continental Congress to Meet Again?
The First Continental Congress convened in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between September v and Oct 26, 1774. Delegates from twelve of U.k.'due south thirteen American colonies met to discuss America's futurity under growing British aggression. The list of delegates included many prominent colonial leaders, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, and two future presidents of the Us, George Washington and John Adams. Delegates discussed boycotting British goods to constitute the rights of Americans and planned for a Second Continental Congress.
The Get-go Continental Congress was prompted by the Coercive Acts, known in America as the Intolerable Acts, which Parliament passed in early 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 The Intolerable Acts, among other changes, closed off the Boston Port and rescinded the Massachusetts Lease, bringing the colony nether more straight British control.
Across North America, colonists rose in solidarity with the people of Massachusetts. Goods arrived in Massachusetts from as far s as Georgia, and past late bound 1774, 9 of the colonies called for a continental congress. Virginia's Committee 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 corresponding colonial legislatures or committees of correspondence. As for Washington, he was elected with the other Virginia delegates at the Outset Virginia Convention, which was called in support of Massachusetts following the passage of the Intolerable Acts. Georgia was the only colony that did not ship any delegates to the Commencement Continental Congress. Facing a state of war with neighboring Native American tribes, the colony did not want to jeopardize British assistance.
When Congress convened on September 5, 1774, Peyton Randolph of Virginia was named President of the Offset Continental Congress. Ane of the Congress's get-go decisions was to endorse the Suffolk Resolves passed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The Suffolk Resolves ordered citizens to not obey the Intolerable Acts, to pass up imported British goods, and to raise a militia. Congress'due south 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 well-nigh important policy outcome. The Association called for an cease to British imports starting in December 1774 and an cease to exporting goods to 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, strength colonists to sign documents pledging loyalty to the Continental Association, and suppress mob violence. The committees of inspection even enforced frugality, going then far every bit to finish lavish funeral services and parties. Many colonial leaders hoped these efforts would bond the colonies together economically.
Virginia secured the Continental Association's filibuster in ending exports to Great britain. Before the Continental Congress, Virginia had passed its own association that delayed ending exports to avoid 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 consequence of delaying the ban on exports to Britain.
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 any orders with Britain, equally a ban on importation was probable 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'south back up of using non-importation as leverage confronting the British can be traced back as far every bit 1769 in messages between him and George Bricklayer. When the colonies showtime started publicly supporting not-importation, Bryan Fairfax, a longtime friend of Washington's, wrote to him urging him to not back up the Continental Association and to instead petition Parliament. Washington dismissed this suggestion, writing "nosotros accept already Petitiond his Majesty in as humble, & dutiful a manner as Subjects could exercise."1 Washington, like many delegates at the First Continental Congress, no longer saw petitioning every bit a useful tool in changing Parliament'south ways.
Many delegates felt that using the Continental Association as leverage would exist impractical without explicit demands and a program of redress. Withal, Congress struggled to come up with a list of rights, grievances, and demands. Furthermore, to just repeal laws that were unfavorable to the delegates without a list of rights would be a temporary gear up to the larger upshot of continued British abuse. To address these bug, Congress formed a K Committee.
All debate was stalled for weeks while a statement of American rights was debated at length. Producing this statement required answering constitutional questions that had been asked for over a century. The hardest constitutional question surrounded Uk'due south right to regulate trade. Joseph Galloway, a conservative delegate from Pennsylvania, insisted on releasing a statement clarifying Great britain'southward right to regulate trade in the American colonies. Notwithstanding, other delegates were opposed to giving Britain explicit rights to colonial trade.
During this debate, Galloway introduced A Program of Matrimony betwixt the American Colonies and United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland. The Plan of Union called for the creation of a Colonial Parliament that would work hand-in-hand with the British Parliament. The British monarch would appoint a President General and the colonial assemblies would appoint delegates for a three-yr term. Galloway'south programme was defeated in a 6-5 vote. Congress put aside the debate over Britain's right to regulate trade and focused on the Continental Association.
Congress afterwards returned to the discussion of Congress's right to regulate trade and settled on the original suggested text by the Grand Committee and included information technology equally Section 4 in the torso'south Declaration of Rights and Grievances. Department four states the "the foundation of English freedom, and of all free authorities, is a correct in the people to participate in their legislative council."2 This allowed for Congress to move forward in their discussion and assert their correct to participation in their authorities, simply did not explicitly place limits on Parliament's regulation of colonial trade.
The First Continental Congress'southward most fateful conclusion was to phone call for a Second Continental Congress to meet the following jump. Congress intended to give United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland time to answer to the Continental Association and discuss any developments at the Second Continental Congress. Washington went shopping for muskets and war machine apparel before leaving Philadelphia for Mount Vernon. Furthermore, he placed an order for a volume on armed forces discipline. Though state of war had not been alleged and many delegates were still hoping for redress, in that location was no dubiety that the American colonies and Britain were on the brink of disharmonize. Many delegates learned of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), in route to Philadelphia for the 2d 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, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-10-02-0081. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 10, 21 March 1774?–?15 June 1775, ed. W. Due west. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 128–131.]
2. United states of america Library of Congress, "Proclamation of Rights and Grievances," - The American Revolution, accessed Oct 29, 2018, http://www.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: First Vintage Books, 2004.
Irwin, Benjamin.Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty: The Continental Congress and the People Out of Doors. New York: Oxford, 2011.
Middlekauff, Robert. Washington's Revolution: The Making of America's First Leader. New York: Random Business firm, 2015.
Source: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-continental-congress/
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