Americans were fed up. The Intolerable Acts were more than the colonies could stand. They included closing the Port of Boston until damages from the Boston Tea party were paid for, the Quartering Act that required colonial authorities to furnish British troops with barracks and supplies, and the annulment of the Massachusetts Charter, giving the British Governor complete control of town meetings.
Following the enactment of the Intolerable Acts in the spring of 1774, support for the patriot cause greatly increased. So great was the anger and anxiety in the colonies, that a meeting was called in Philadelphia in the fall of 1774. The purpose of the meeting was not to break away from England, but to see what could be done to address hostilities. So crucial was the meeting that 12 colonies sent representatives.
What came out of the meeting was a sense of unity. Patrick Henry, a delegate to the Congress, wrote: "the distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” A new nation, an American nation, was coming into existence.
Watch the video below to learn why the Continental Congress had to meet twice and what happened as a result of those meetings. Take notes as you watch.
When the Stamp Act was repealed, the American colonists were somewhat appeased; however, this was not the case when the Townshend Acts were repealed. By this time, the colonists were disillusioned with Great Britain and didn’t trust that the British wouldn’t issue more taxes and laws in the future. Even more, the taxes on sugar and tea were still being collected. The colonial activists were still promoting boycotts. Some activists were attacking British ships. Activists even burned a ship in Annapolis carrying tea.
Still upset about the tax on tea, Boston activists took action when Governor Thomas Hutchinson allowed three ships with tea as the cargo into the Boston Harbor. On December 16, 1773, a group of radical Bostonians dressed as Native Americans boarded the ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The amount of money today in damages was more than 750 million dollars. All of the British East India tea was lost that day.
The British responded to the Boston Tea Party with the Coercive Acts. The British closed the Boston Harbor until the East India Company was paid back for the tea. The coercive acts banned town meetings and increased the power of the royal governors. The British also appointed General Gage, commander of the military stationed in North America, to be the governor of Massachusetts. The British officers were also allowed to house themselves and their soldiers in private homes of the colonists. The British also took direct control of Quebec in the Canadian region. The Americans saw this as a permanent settlement for the British and called the Coercive Acts, along with the Quebec Act ,the "Intolerable Acts." These very tense times called for action and on September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia.
Americans were fed up. The "Intolerable Acts" were more than the colonies could stand. In the summer that followed Parliament's attempt to punish Boston, sentiment for the patriot cause increased dramatically. The printing presses at the Committees of Correspondence were churning out volumes. Thus, on September 1774, the first Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia. This time participation was better. Only Georgia withheld a delegation. The representatives from each colony were often selected by almost arbitrary means as the election of such representatives was illegal.
Still the natural leaders of the colonies managed to be selected. Sam and John Adams from Massachusetts were present, as was John Dickinson from Pennsylvania. Virginia selected Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, and Patrick Henry. It took seven weeks for the country's future heroes to agree on a course of action.
One decision by the Congress often overlooked in importance is its decision to reconvene in May 1775 if their grievances were not addressed. This was a major step in creating an ongoing intercolonial decisionmaking body, unprecedented in colonial history.
When Parliament chose to ignore the Congress, they did indeed reconvene that next May, but by this time boycotts were no longer a major issue. Unfortunately, the Second Continental Congress would be grappling with choices caused by the spilling of blood at Lexington and Concord the previous month.
It was at Carpenters' Hall that America came together politically for the first time on a national level and where the seeds of participatory democracy were sown. The colonists had had it. First were the shots fired at Lexington and Concord; then the Boston Massacre in 1770. Colonial patriots were being arrested and men were killed defending them.
There were many issues to be discussed at the Second Continental Congress. A colonial army needed to be created, and the Congress appointed George Washington to be the commander of the continental army. He chose to lead the army without pay. The Congress also allowed the printing of money to pay for the supplies. The Congress issued a foreign government committee as well in the instance they would need to ask for foreign help.
The Congress was looking more and more like a government. Most in 1775 were not after total independence from Great Britain. Most just wanted a better system. The Congress issued the Olive Branch Petition to the king of England, George III, in 1775. This petition attempted to appeal to the king for a peaceful negation. The king refused the petition and declared the colonies to be in rebellion. The king also hired Hessian mercenaries to live in North America and control the Americans. As time went on, the men of the Continental Congress were wanted by the crown for treason. In the summer of 1776, a formal Declaration of Independence was drafted, signed, and sent.
In January of 1776, a man by the name Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense. By April of that year, nearly 120,000 copies were being circulated throughout the colonies. The major arguments of Common Sense were 1) independence from England and 2) the creation of a democratic republic. Paine wrote in a way the people could understand. Most people in America read and knew the Bible, which he often quoted--this was strategic. Paine was not a religious man but knew most of his readers were. Common Sense promoted the patriots to take action. Ultimately, he did sway public opinion with questions like "Why should a small island like England rule an entire large continent? How could the colonists make their own financial decisions with foreigners while still being loyal to Great Britain? How much longer could the colonists stand for the British abuses?"
Richard Henry Lee presented a resolve to Congress on June 7, 1776, which declared the 13 colonies free and independent states. A vote on the resolution was set for July. Five men were chosen to a subcommittee to explain the resolution. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were selected to choose careful words. They needed to be persuasive. The goal was to make the Americans more patriotic to the cause. This was also meant to persuade foreign nations to aid the colonists. Thomas Jefferson was chosen to do the writing, while the others advised.
The Declaration of Independence was written in three main parts. The first part was a statement of intent. Jefferson included phrases such as “all men are created equal,” “unalienable rights,” and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” These were basic enlightenment principals. The second section was the list of grievances the Americans had with the crown and concludes dissolving ties with Britain. All who were involved in the creation of the Declaration would be found guilty of treason and could hang, yet the men signed the document anyway. On July 4, 1776, the colonies approved the document in a 12-0 vote. New York abstained. They all knew if this was successful they would be free, and if they failed, they all would hang
