[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on The First and Second Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress had convened in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to consider and act on the situation arising from the so-called Intolerable Acts, passed by the British Parliament in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party.Twelve colonies were represented in the First Continental Congress by about 50 delegates half were lawyers but the delegation also included planters and merchants, designated principally by the colonial assemblies; Canada and Georgia were not represented. One of the Virginia delegates, Peyton Randolph, was unanimously elected president of the assembly. Despite their differences, they found a common ground in responding to their treatment by their mother country.
The First Continental Congress issued a petition to George III, king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, and invited the people of Canada to join in an appeal to the king to help restore harmony between Britain and the colonies.In addition, the Congress called for the colonies to adopt a radical agreement—the Continental Association—boycotting trade with Britain. Extralegal bodies known as Committees of Safety were charged with enforcing the association; they soon became revolutionary spearheads in the towns and counties, creating the first effective union among the colonies and silencing Loyalist opinion.
The delegates from the host Colony of Pennsylvania put before the Congress a resolution to resolve their differences with England. The resolution was defeated on September 28th, BY ONE VOTE! (E. C. Burnett).The defining moment of the two month proceedings came on October 14th when the delegates approved the DECLARATIONS AND RESOLVES. In addition to condemning Parliament and the King of England for interfering in the matters of the Colonies, it granted to each of the Colonies the right to a Colonial treasury and a Colonial legislative process.....
