Second Continental Congress: Difference between revisions

Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
Part of the American Revolution
	Congress Voting Independence by Robert Edge Pine
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	May 10, 1775
Disbanded	March 1, 1781
Preceded by	First Continental Congress
Succeeded by	Congress of the Confederation
Leadership
President of the Continental Congress	Peyton Randolph (first); Samuel Huntington (last)
Secretary	Charles Thomson
Seats	Variable; ~60
Meeting place
	Assembly Room, Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Under exigent circumstance also met at:; Henry Fite House, Baltimore, Maryland;; Court House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania;; Court House, York, Pennsylvania;; College Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The Second Continental Congress was the late 18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War, which established American independence from the British Empire. The Congress constituted a new federation that it first named the United Colonies, and in 1776, renamed the United States of America. The Congress began convening in Philadelphia, on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies, after the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

The Second Continental Congress succeeded the First Continental Congress, which had met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congress functioned as the de facto federation government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive Branch Petition.^[1] All 13 colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution, which declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and the Congress unanimously agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later.

Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States of America through March 1, 1781, when congress became what is now often called the Confederation Congress. During this period, it successfully managed the war effort, drafted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, adopted the first U.S. constitution, secured diplomatic recognition and support from foreign nations, and resolved state land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Many of the delegates who attended the Second Congress had also attended the First. They again elected Peyton Randolph as president of the Congress and Charles Thomson as secretary.^[2] Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts. Within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses; Hancock succeeded him as president, and Thomas Jefferson replaced Randolph in the Virginia delegation.^[3] The number of participating colonies also grew, as Georgia endorsed the Congress in July 1775 and adopted the continental ban on trade with Britain.^[4]

History

De facto government

The First Continental Congress had sent entreaties to King George III to stop the Intolerable Acts. They also created the Continental Association to establish a coordinated protest of these acts, boycotting British goods in protest to them. The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775, to plan further responses if the British government did not repeal or modify the acts; however, the American Revolutionary War had started by that time with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Congress was called upon to take charge of the war effort.

For the first few months of the Revolutionary War, the patriots carried on their struggle in a largely ad-hoc and uncoordinated manner. Even so, they had numerous successes, seizing numerous British arsenals, driving royal officials out of several colonies, and launching the Siege of Boston in order to prevent the movement by land of British troops stationed there. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to create the Continental Army out of the militia units around Boston, and the next day unanimously approved a motion naming George Washington of Virginia as its commanding general.^[5]^[6]

On July 6, 1775, Congress approved a Declaration of Causes outlining the rationale and necessity for taking up arms in the Thirteen Colonies. Two days later, delegates signed the Olive Branch Petition to King George III affirming the colonies' loyalty to the crown and imploring the king to prevent further conflict. However, by the time British Colonial Secretary Lord Dartmouth received the petition, King George III had already issued a proclamation on August 23, 1775, in response to the Battle of Bunker Hill, declaring elements of Britain's continental American possessions to be in a state of what he called an "open and avowed rebellion". As a result, the king refused to receive the petition.^[7]

Georgia had not participated in the First Continental Congress and did not initially send delegates to the Second. But with the Revolutionary War escalating, the residents of St. John's Parish in present-day Liberty County sent Lyman Hall to the gathering in Philadelphia on their behalf.^[8] He participated in debates but did not vote, as he did not represent the entire colony.^[9] That changed after July 1775, when a provincial Congress decided to send delegates to the Continental Congress and to adopt a ban on trade with Britain.^[4]

The Continental Congress had no explicit legal authority from the British to govern,^[10] but it assumed all the functions of a national government, including appointing ambassadors, signing treaties, raising armies, appointing generals, obtaining loans from Europe, issuing paper money called "Continentals", and disbursing funds. Congress had no authority to levy taxes and was required to request money, supplies, and troops from the states to support the war effort. Individual states frequently ignored these requests.

Congress was moving towards declaring independence from the British Empire in 1776, but many delegates lacked the authority from their home governments to take such drastic action. Advocates of independence moved to have reluctant colonial governments revise instructions to their delegations, or even replace those governments which would not authorize independence. On May 10, 1776, Congress passed a resolution recommending that any colony with a government that was not inclined toward independence should form one that was. On May 15, they adopted a more radical preamble to this resolution, drafted by John Adams, which advised throwing off oaths of allegiance and suppressing the authority of the Crown in any colonial government that still derived its authority from the Crown. That same day, the Virginia Convention instructed its delegation in Philadelphia to propose a resolution that called for a declaration of independence, the formation of foreign alliances, and a confederation of the states. The resolution of independence was delayed for several weeks, as advocates of independence consolidated support in their home governments.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution before the Congress, declaring the colonies independent. He urged Congress to resolve "to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances" and to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states.^[11] Lee argued that independence was the only way to ensure a foreign alliance since no European monarchs would deal with America if they remained Britain's colonies. American leaders had rejected the divine right of kings in the New World, but recognized the necessity of proving their credibility in the Old World.^[12]

Congress formally adopted the resolution of independence, but only after creating three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, a Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation. The Declaration announced the states' entry into the international system; the model treaty was designed to establish amity and commerce with other states, and the Articles of Confederation established "a firm league" among the thirteen free and independent states. These ^[3]three things together constituted an international agreement to set up central institutions for conducting vital domestic and foreign affairs.^[11] Congress finally approved the resolution of independence on July 2, 1776. They next turned their attention to a formal explanation of this decision, the United States Declaration of Independence which was approved on July 4 and published soon thereafter.

Provisional government

The Congress moved to Baltimore in the winter of 1776–77 to avoid capture by British forces who were advancing on Philadelphia. Henry Fite's tavern was the largest building in Baltimore at the time and provided a comfortable location of sufficient size for Congress to meet. Its site at the western edge of town was beyond easy reach of the British Royal Navy's ships should they attempt to sail up the harbor and the Patapsco River to shell the town. Congress was again forced to flee Philadelphia at the end of September 1777, as British troops seized and occupied the city; they moved to York, Pennsylvania, where they continued their work.

Congress passed the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777, after more than a year of debate, and sent it to the states for ratification. Approval by all 13 states was required for the establishment of the constitution. Jefferson's proposal for a Senate to represent the states and a House to represent the people was rejected, but a similar proposal was adopted later in the United States Constitution. One issue of debate was large states wanting a larger say, nullified by small states who feared tyranny. The small states prevailed, and each state was afforded one vote.^[13] Another revolved around the issue of western land claims; states without such claims wanted those with claims to yield them to Congress. As written, western land claims remained in the hands of the individual states. Congress urged the states to give their assent quickly, and most did.^[14] The first to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777; 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779, 14 months into the process.^[15] The lone holdout, Maryland, finally ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781, doing so only after Virginia relinquished its claims on land north of the Ohio River to Congress.^[14]

List of sessions

May 10, 1775 – December 12, 1776
Location:	Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
President:	Peyton Randolph (until May 24, 1775)^[16] John Hancock (from May 24, 1775)^[16]

December 20, 1776 – February 27, 1777
Location:	Henry Fite House, Baltimore, Maryland
President:	John Hancock

March 5, 1777 – September 18, 1777
Location:	Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
President:	John Hancock

September 27, 1777
Location:	Court House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
President:	John Hancock

September 30, 1777 – June 27, 1778
Location:	Court House, York, Pennsylvania
President:	John Hancock (until October 29, 1777)^[16] Henry Laurens (from November 1, 1777)^[16]

July 2, 1778 – July 20, 1778
Location:	College Hall, Philadelphia
President:	Henry Laurens

July 21, 1778 – March 1, 1781
Location:	Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
President:	Henry Laurens (until December 9, 1778)^[17] John Jay (from December 10, 1778, until September 28, 1779)^[17] Samuel Huntington (from September 28, 1779)^[17]

References

^ Cogliano (2000), p. 113.
^ Burnett, Edward Cody (1941). The Continental Congress. New York: Norton. pp. 64–67.
^ ^a ^b Fowler, William M. Jr. (1980). The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 189. ISBN 0395276195.
^ ^a ^b Cashin, Edward J. (2005). "Revolutionary War in Georgia". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^ Cogliano, Francis D. (2000). Revolutionary America, 1763–1815: A Political History. London & New York City: Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 978-0415180573.
^ Marsh, Esbon R. (1941). "The First Session of the Second Continental Congress". The Historian. 3 (2): 188. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1941.tb00537.x. JSTOR 24435926. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
^ Maier, Pauline (1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Knopf. pp. 24–25, 249–250. ISBN 978-0679454922.
^ Shippey, Judith A. (October 17, 2003). "Midway". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^ Deaton, Stan (September 12, 2002). "Lyman Hall (1724–1790)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
^ Bancroft, George (1874). History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company. p. 353. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via Making of America digital library, University of Michigan Library.
^ ^a ^b "The Declaration of Independence in World Context". Organization of American Historians, Magazine of History. 18 (3): 61–66. 2004. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015.
^ Jones, Howard (2001). Crucible of power: a history of American foreign relations to 1913. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0842029186.
^ Miller, John C. (1948). "22". Triumph of Freedom, 1775–1783. Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 978-1404748330.
^ ^a ^b "Maryland finally ratifies Articles of Confederation". history.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "Articles of Confederation, 1777–1781". Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jillson, Calvin C.; Wilson, Rick K. (1994). Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789. Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0804722933.
^ ^a ^b ^c Follett, Mary Parker (1909) [First edition, 1896]. The speaker of the House of Representatives. New York: Longmans, Greene, and Company. p. 337. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via Internet Archive, digitized in 2007.

External links

Full text of Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789
Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789

Preceded by First Continental Congress	Second Continental Congress May 10, 1775 – March 1, 1781	Succeeded by Congress of the Confederation

[FOOTNOTECogliano2000113-1] Cogliano (2000), p. 113.

[2] Burnett, Edward Cody (1941). The Continental Congress. New York: Norton. pp. 64–67.

[:0-3] Fowler, William M. Jr. (1980). The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 189. ISBN 0395276195.

[CashinEJ-4] Cashin, Edward J. (2005). "Revolutionary War in Georgia". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.

[5] Cogliano, Francis D. (2000). Revolutionary America, 1763–1815: A Political History. London & New York City: Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 978-0415180573.

[MarshFirstSession-6] Marsh, Esbon R. (1941). "The First Session of the Second Continental Congress". The Historian. 3 (2): 188. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1941.tb00537.x. JSTOR 24435926. Retrieved October 9, 2022.

[7] Maier, Pauline (1997). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Knopf. pp. 24–25, 249–250. ISBN 978-0679454922.

[8] Shippey, Judith A. (October 17, 2003). "Midway". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.

[9] Deaton, Stan (September 12, 2002). "Lyman Hall (1724–1790)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities and the University of Georgia Press. Retrieved April 22, 2019.

[10] Bancroft, George (1874). History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company. p. 353. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via Making of America digital library, University of Michigan Library.

[DoI-World-11] "The Declaration of Independence in World Context". Organization of American Historians, Magazine of History. 18 (3): 61–66. 2004. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015.

[12] Jones, Howard (2001). Crucible of power: a history of American foreign relations to 1913. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0842029186.

[13] Miller, John C. (1948). "22". Triumph of Freedom, 1775–1783. Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 978-1404748330.

[A&Eratifies-14] "Maryland finally ratifies Articles of Confederation". history.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved April 28, 2019.

[15] "Articles of Confederation, 1777–1781". Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2019.

[Jillson94Wilson-16] Jillson, Calvin C.; Wilson, Rick K. (1994). Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789. Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0804722933.

[Follett1909-17] Follett, Mary Parker (1909) [First edition, 1896]. The speaker of the House of Representatives. New York: Longmans, Greene, and Company. p. 337. Retrieved April 22, 2019 – via Internet Archive, digitized in 2007.

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
 {{Infobox legislature
-| name               =  Second Continental Congres
+| name               =  Second Continental Congress
 | legislature        = Part of the [[American Revolution]]
 | coa_pic            = [[File:Congress voting independence.jpg|border|250px]]
-| coa_caption        = ''[[Congres Voting Independence]]'' by [[Robert Edge Pine]]
+| coa_caption        = ''[[Congress Voting Independence]]'' by [[Robert Edge Pine]]
 | house_type         = Unicameral
 | established        = {{Start date|1775|5|10}}
 | disbanded          = {{End date|1781|3|1}}
-| preceded_by        = [[First Continental Congres]]
+| preceded_by        = [[First Continental Congress]]
 | succeeded_by       = [[Congress of the Confederation]]
-| leader1_type       = [[President of the Continental Congres]]
+| leader1_type       = [[President of the Continental Congress]]
 | leader1            = [[Peyton Randolph]] (first)<br>[[Samuel Huntington (statesman)|Samuel Huntington]] (last)
 | leader2_type       = Secretary
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 | meeting_place      = Assembly Room, [[Independence Hall|Pennsylvania State House]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]<br>'''Under exigent circumstance also met at:'''<br>[[Henry Fite House]], [[Baltimore]], Maryland;<br>Court House, [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]];<br>Court House, [[York, Pennsylvania]];<br>College Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 }}
-{{Continental Congres}}
+{{Continental Congress}}
-The '''Second Continental Congres''' was the late 18th-century meeting of delegates from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that united in support of the [[American Revolution]] and the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], which established American independence from the [[British Empire]]. The Congres constituted a new federation that it first named the [[United Colonies]], and in 1776, renamed the [[United States|United States of America]]. The Congres began convening in [[Philadelphia]], on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies, after the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]].
+The '''Second Continental Congress''' was the late 18th-century meeting of delegates from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that united in support of the [[American Revolution]] and the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], which established American independence from the [[British Empire]]. The Congress constituted a new federation that it first named the [[United Colonies]], and in 1776, renamed the [[United States|United States of America]]. The Congress began convening in [[Philadelphia]], on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies, after the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]].
-The Second Continental Congres succeeded the [[First Continental Congres]], which had met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congres functioned as the ''de facto'' federation government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the [[Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms]] and the [[Olive Branch Petition]].{{Sfnp|Cogliano|2000|page=113}} All 13 colonies were represented by the time the Congres adopted the [[Lee Resolution]], which declared independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] on July 2, 1776, and the Congres unanimously agreed to the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] two days later.
+The Second Continental Congress succeeded the [[First Continental Congress]], which had met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congress functioned as the ''de facto'' federation government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the [[Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms]] and the [[Olive Branch Petition]].{{Sfnp|Cogliano|2000|page=113}} All 13 colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted the [[Lee Resolution]], which declared independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] on July 2, 1776, and the Congress unanimously agreed to the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] two days later.
 Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States of America through March 1, 1781, when congress became what is now often called the [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]]. During this period, it successfully managed the war effort, drafted the [[Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union]], adopted the first U.S. constitution, secured diplomatic recognition and support from foreign nations, and resolved state land claims west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].

v t e Government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation
Congresses	Second Continental Congress Confederation Congress Delegates Committee of the States
Congressional Officers	President Secretary
Civil Offices/Officers	Postmaster General Superintendent of Finance Agent of the Marine Secretary at War Secretary of Foreign Affairs Court of Appeals
Military	Board of War Continental Army Commander in Chief Continental Navy Continental Marines
Meeting sites	Independence Hall (1779–1783) Nassau Hall (1783) Maryland State House (1783–1784) French Arms Tavern (1784) Federal Hall (1785–1789)
Related	Confederation period Perpetual Union Proclamation of 1783 Ratification Day 1784 Land Ordinance 1785 Land Ordinance Northwest Ordinance Journals of the Continental Congress

v t e Pennsylvania in the American Revolution
1774	Carpenters' Hall First Continental Congress Articles of Association
1775	Independence Hall Second Continental Congress
1776	Pennsylvania Provincial Conference Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence Pennsylvania Constitution Washington Crosses the Delaware
1777	Articles of Confederation Philadelphia campaign Battle of Brandywine Battle of the Clouds Liberty Bell moved to Allentown Battle of Paoli Battle of Germantown Siege of Fort Mifflin Battle of White Marsh Battle of Matson's Ford Valley Forge
1778	Battle of Crooked Billet Battle of Barren Hill British occupation of Philadelphia ends Wyoming Valley battle and massacre
1781	Congress of the Confederation Mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line
1783	1783 Mutiny

v t e John Hancock
1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts, 1780–1785, 1787–1793 President, Second Continental Congress, 1775–1777, 1785-1786 Boston Board of Selectmen, 1766–1775
United States Founding events	HMS Liberty confiscation Sons of Liberty Co-inspired, Boston Tea Party 1774 Massacre Day speech President, Massachusetts Provincial Congress Chairman, Massachusetts Committee of Safety Presided over, signed, United States Declaration of Independence (signing Dunlap broadside) Signed, Articles of Confederation 1788 Massachusetts Compromise
Life	Early life Hancock–Clarke House Hancock Manor Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University Boston Cadets Co-founder, American Academy of Arts and Sciences United States presidential election, 1788–89 Granary Burying Ground
Related	American Revolution patriots Founding Father Syng inkstand
Legacy	1776 (1969 musical, 1972 film) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries) USS Hancock, 1775 USS Hancock, 1776 USS John Hancock (1850) USS Hancock (1944) USS John Hancock (1977) John Hancock Center John Hancock Tower Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Family	Dorothy Quincy (wife) John Hancock Jr. (father) Thomas Hancock (uncle) John Hancock Sr. (grandfather) Edmund Quincy (father-in-law)

Second Continental Congress: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:44, 24 October 2024

History

De facto government

Provisional government

List of sessions

See also

References

Further reading

Primary sources

External links