Essay On The First Continental Congress

495 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of battle at lexington and concord

The First Continental Congress The Coercive Acts frightened the colonists and they thought they would even take a stronger action on them. So, because of this on September 1774 representatives of each colony met in Philadelphia to discuss how they should respond to Britain. Since this was the first meeting of its kind in North America this event was called the First Continental Congress. A congress is a formal meeting of representatives. The congress decided to send a signed petition to the king. The petition stated their basic rights as a British citizen: the right to life and liberty, the right to assemble, or gather together, and the right to a trial by jury. Congress made May 10, 1775 as the Parliament’s deadline to respond. The Congress also asked colonies to form militias and stop most trade with Britain. The Battle of Lexington and Concord When the First Continental Congress asked the colonies to form militias, Massachusetts quickly formed a part-time militia called the minutemen. They were called the minutemen because they were always ready to fight even at a minute’s …show more content…

This event is known as the Second Continental Congress. The representatives met at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania only Georgia did not send representatives. The congress discussed what they should do next. Some wanted war with Britain. Others wanted to be peaceful with Britain and avoid any more fighting. So, by June the congress made a compromise. They decided they should at least prepare for war. Their first step was to form a full-time army called the Continental Army. They chose George Washington to be the army’s commander in chief or the leader of the army. Finally the congress asked the colonies to donate guns, food, and uniforms to the army. They also decided they should print out paper money known as Continental currency to pay the British

Show More
Related

  • Second Continental Congress Dbq

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the American Revolution the not yet established United States, held two Continental Congresses that eventually help defeat Britain. The First Continental Congress informed the local militias to prepare for war. The Second Continental Congress helped end the war and issue the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental congress sought out to create a national government for our new country named the Articles of Confederation. However, The Articles of Confederation had many problems, for example, Congress and the states shared the right to regulate currency and issue money. This led to an excess of currency, which pushed down the value of currency and created inflationary pressure on the Continental dollar. The downfall of the Articles of Confederation ultimately sparked a political conflict between

    Read More

  • Justification of the Colonists' Declaration of Independence from England

    328 Words  | 1 Pages

    England then passes the Tea Act taxing imported tea, but also gives the British East Indian Tea co. a complete monopoly, cutting the middleman out of the deal, thus putting American merchants nearly out of business. As time went on, and the British got a little more nervous about the colonies' acts of rebellion, they decide to try and stop it by taking away a basic right, the right to free assembly. This further angers the colonist. England pushes harder on the colonists until an assembly was considered to be two guys meeting on the street. All of this forces the colonists to meet underground.

    Read More

  • Essay On Second Continental Congress

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Second Continental Congress was an organization that started having meetings to make decisions on where to attack the British and how to defend themselves. This foundation was created because it was during the war in Lexington and Concord, so they needed someone to help make their decisions and help decide attack methods. The Congress representatives originally met during the Revolutionary War; their first meeting being on May 10, 1775. The representatives (a person or people sent to represent something) came from 12 of the original 13 colonies.

    Read More

  • Disagreements Between American Colonists and British Policymakers

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...rader. Committees operating under rules set by the newly created Continental Association enforced a boycott on good from British. The Congress pledged to support Massachusetts if an attack were to happen; meaning all of the colonies would become involved. The American Revolutionary War began at Lexington and Concord a year after congress gave Massachusetts this pledge." it was not immediately clear to British, and even to many Americans, that the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord were the first battles of war." (Brinkley, 128) Colonists prepared a militia, organizing small, armed groups ready for quick action as Minute Men, ready for an open rebellion. At the same time the military governor of Massachusetts began fortifying Boston, despite the discussions underway in Parliament, the Massachusetts military, marched on Concord, where militia supplies were stored.

    Read More

  • Continental Army and Minute Men: Distinct Revolutionary Forces

    421 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Minute Men shall be the first for they were thought to show up on a minute’s notice (Hence their name, “Minute Men”). They were generally known as militia because they were local citizens fighting the British when they attack small communities. These were the type of people fighting at the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. They donned no uniforms and had no training in fighting compared to the British army and the Continental army. When the Minute Men went into combat, they were each expected to have a gun, some ammo, and their equipment. The towns would usually help each other out but that was as far as they went. Instead of the “Traditional Style” like the British used, these men used “Indian Tactics”.

    Read More

  • Development of Colonies

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...olerable Acts, which colonists viewed as posing threat to their political freedom. Therefore, the Continental Congress adopted the Continental Association, and more small towns and rural areas joined the resistance. Still, some colonial leaders did not favor severing the tie with Britain because of pride of British membership and fear of further turmoil. In New York and Pennsylvania, unable to achieve a consensus on their position against Britain, many leaders stagnated from further resistance.

    Read More

  • The American Revolution Essay

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Revolutions are usually described as “radical” events. A “radical” event is defined as one that greatly changes the political, cultural, social, and/or economic nature of a society. I believe that the American Revolution was a radical event that dramatically changed our society. There were many impacts to the changes such as slavery, primogeniture, the Articles of Confederation, republican motherhood, and government. This was the time in life, that we as America gained our independence from Britain. The American Revolution is what shaped our world to become what it is today.

    Read More

  • Patrick Henry Informative Essay

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    He constructed the first First Continental Congress in 1774. Were he and Thomas Jefferson meet with one person from each colony. In this meeting each person talked about their ideas to retaliate on the British. Also in the First Continental Congress, Patrick Henry orated his most famous speech, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry states,”Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give me Liberty, or give me Death!” After this, everyone jumped up and shouted, “ To Arms! To Arms!” After the meeting as over, Henry put a militia group together. In this group Henry would lead them and teach them strategies, such as guerrilla warfare. Henry would lead them to fight the Royal Governor Lord Dunmore’s to fix a situation of gunpowder. This major event would be called the Gunpowder

    Read More

  • Essay On The Boston Massacre

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Next came the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws passed by Great Britain to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and to strengthen British control over the Colonies. The Patriots viewed the Acts as a violation of the rights of Massachusetts, and in September 1774 they organized the First Continental Congress to organize a protest. As tensions grew, the American Revolutionary War officially commenced in April 1775.

    Read More

  • Thomas Paine's The American Revolution

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now, able to express their grievances and frustrations, the Colonies were able to essentially “stick it to the man” against Britain. Thomas Jefferson writes how Great Britain’s king had “impos[ed] taxes on [them] without [their] consent,” and “depriv[ed] [them] of the benefits of trial by jury.“ He goes on to say that the king had abolish[ed] [their] most valuable laws; and alter[ed] fundamentally the forms of [their] governments.” (Baym 342) This list of complaints goes on and on. The king took away all of their fundamental rights, and the colonists were fed up. Thomas Jefferson says that he didn’t just take away their rights, but he took away their basic human rights, and “waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him.” (Baym 343) These are very strong words from Thomas Jefferson, but they reflect the way these colonists felt. They were angry, and they had every right to

    Read More

  • Influence Of George Washington

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    The battle of Lexington and Concord was the start of the American Revolutionary War. The colonies and the British had a political dispute which turned into an armed conflict. A second Continental Congress was called and created the continental army. George Washington was chosen to be the commander of the army because of his great leadership skills and his military

    Read More

  • Declaring Independence

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. The Congress dealt with the military crisis the colonies were in with England. It organized forces around Boston into the Continental Army and appointed George Washington to commander-in-chief.

    Read More

  • The American Constitution: The Roots Of American Constitutionalism

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    The royal charters issued to colonists, were the king 's declaration to the colonists of their rights and responsibilities to him. The colonists typically drafted a compact or covenant, such as the Mayflower Compact, an agreement among themselves, defining how they would govern themselves in accordance with the royal charters. Because the British practiced salutary neglect, the colonists were able to set their own course for independent development. While technically under the authority of the British crown and crown-appointed governors, the American colonies developed very independent-minded legislatures which passed laws for their own governance. The assembly, or lower house of the legislature, represented the people’s interest and was elected by them. Most people were also used to democratic practices such as voting, petitioning, public debate, and demonstrations (45). Because the colonists were used to having a high degree of self-government and democratic practices, many were outraged when the Parliament imposed the Stamp Act on the colonies. Colonial legislatures were accustomed to passing their laws regarding taxation, so when the Stamp Act came into effect, some legislatures went as far as declaring the Act illegal and unconstitutional (44). Events following the Stamp Act, such as the Boston Massacre, and the Quartering Act led to the formation of the Continental Congress.

    Read More

  • Early History of West Springfield

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    On April 19, 1775, British soldiers attacked the towns of Lexington and Concord. When the news reached West Springfield a company of minutemen composed of West Springfield’s citizens began the nearly one hundred mile march to the west on April 20th. Captain Enoch Chapin, First Lieutenant Samuel Fowler and Second Lieutenant Luke Day led fifty men westward to aid their fellow colonists. They were part of a larger regiment led by Colonel Patterson. At the end of their month long service, the minutemen returned home. A majority of the men would later re-enlist.

    Read More

  • The Coercive Acts Or The Intolerable Acts

    171 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a result of the Boston Tea Party the British shut down the Boston Harbor until all the tea that was thrown into the harbor was paid for and also implemented the Coercive Acts or the "Intolerable Acts". They were a series of four acts established by the British to restore order in the colonies. By enforcing these acts the British hoped it would send a message to the other colonies and they would not join forces with the Massachusetts colony. Instead, the other colonies came to their defense, sending supplies and establishing the First Continental Congress which met in Philadelphia in September 1774. Representatives from each colony (except Georgia), met to discuss their relationship with Britain and how to attain their own rights

    Read More

More about Essay On The First Continental Congress

Open Document