GOVERNMENT DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION During the American Revolution, many of the sessions of Congress took place in Philadelphia. However, the delegates of the Congress had to change the location of their meetings multiple times for various reasons throughout the Revolutionary War. 1774: First Meeting in Philadelphia
The First Continental Congress was sparked by the Coercive Acts passed by the British Parliament. Delegates representing the 13 Colonies came together to discuss how they could
protest the Coercive Acts and potentially resolve the issues between the colonies and Parliament. The delegates drafted the Declaration of Rights, which emphasized their loyalty to the Crown, but explained why they felt colonists were being taxed unfairly. They then published the Articles of Association, which called on the colonists to stop importing goods from England as a form of protest. If Parliament didn’t address their grievances by the following year, the American colonies would stop exporting goods to Britain.
by King George III, many colonists and the majority of the Founders came to the conclusion that declaring independence Congress Voting Independence, by Robert Edge Pine. The painting was finished by Edward Savage after Edge Pine’s death.
was the only way to move forward. 1776: Relocation to Baltimore In 1776, the Founders met in Philadelphia and finally made the decision to draft the Declaration of Independence and to formally break with Great Britain. In doing this, the American colonies officially declared war on Great Britain. The Declaration was drafted and ratified in July and August 1776. By this time, the British Army was advancing toward Philadelphia. Since the delegates had committed treason by signing the Declaration of Independence, they were now wanted men. In order to avoid capture, the members of the Continental Congress were forced to gather all of their materials and records and move 100 miles away to Baltimore, Maryland. There, they met again in December 1776. They discussed the war and formed a committee of five members who would be in charge of creating a plan for obtaining foreign assistance for the war.
Engraving of the First Continental Congress, 1782
May 1775: Second Meeting in Philadelphia A year later, the Second Continental Congress began on May 10, 1775, after fighting had already broken out between American colonists and British soldiers at the battles of Lexington and Concord the month before. At this second meeting, the Congress created the Continental Army and named George Washington its commander in chief. The Congress published the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and then followed it up with the Olive Branch Petition. The Olive Branch Petition was a final plea with King George III to avoid a war and resolve things peacefully. A year later, American colonists fought in battles against British soldiers. The Congress remained divided on whether to declare independence from Britain or remain loyal to the king. However, between fighting the British Army, oppression from British Parliament, and petitions being repeatedly ignored
REACTION TO THE DECLARATION As president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock sent the Declaration of Independence to the government of Great Britain. In a letter dated July 6, 1776, he wrote:
Aug. 24, 1776. The full document was printed alone, with no introduction or comment. In Scotland, the oldest magazine in the world, called The Scots Magazine , printed the Declaration of Independence with negative comments attached. The author denied the statement that “all men are created equal.” He added that even if that were true, it was hardly a reason for rebellion. Parliament looked upon the Declaration as a last-ditch effort of people who were going to lose their rebellion. Parliament
Gentlemen . . . The Congress have judged it necessary to dissolve all connection between Great Britain and the American Colonies, and to declare them free and independent States as you will perceive by the enclosed Declaration, which I am directed to transmit to you. King George III received the letter and the document. He hired John Lind, a lawyer and political writer, to write a response to
also denied any wrongdoing on its part. It denied any responsibility. Parliament members thought the Americans were being ungrateful. They believed the people of the colonies were being misled by the leaders in Philadelphia. Retired Massachusetts royal governor Thomas Hutchinson, who was living in
the Declaration. Lind denied all the things the Americans said about the king. Lind also criticized the notion of unalienable rights. The response became a 132-page book. Newspapers in Great Britain often printed what was happening in America and news from the Continental Congress. The British public knew how the Americans felt about the British government. The Declaration of Independence was printed in a newspaper in Newcastle, England on
England, also responded. He felt the colonies were under poor leadership. He thought that King George could never be wrong. Hutchinson was respectfully treated by the people in England for his service in the colonies. However, Hutchinson was always homesick for Boston. He never returned, though, and he died in England in 1780.
King George III c. 1800
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