Second Continental Congress | |
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| Part of theAmerican Revolution | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Established | May 10, 1775 (1775-05-10) |
| Disbanded | March 1, 1781 (1781-03-01) |
| Preceded by | First Continental Congress |
| Succeeded by | Congress of the Confederation |
| Leadership | |
Secretary | |
| 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 | |
| This article is part ofa series on the |
| United States Continental Congress |
|---|
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| Predecessors |
| First Continental Congress |
| Second Continental Congress |
| Congress of the Confederation |
| Members |
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TheSecond Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meeting of delegates from theThirteen Colonies that united in support of theAmerican Revolution andRevolutionary War, which established American independence from theBritish Empire. The Congress constituted a new federation that it first named theUnited Colonies of North America, and in 1776, renamed theUnited States of America. The Congress began convening in present-dayIndependence Hall inPhiladelphia, on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies, following theBattles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War, which were fought on April 19, 1775.
The Second Continental Congress succeeded theFirst Continental Congress, which met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congress functioned as thede facto federation government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as theDeclaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and theOlive Branch Petition.[1] All 13 colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted theLee Resolution, which declared independence fromGreat Britain on July 2, 1776, and the Congress unanimously agreed to theDeclaration 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 theConfederation Congress. During this period, it successfully managed the war effort, drafted theArticles 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 theAppalachian Mountains.
Many of the delegates who attended the Second Congress had also attended the First. They again electedPeyton Randolph as president of the Congress andCharles Thomson as secretary.[2] Notable new arrivals includedBenjamin Franklin ofPennsylvania andJohn Hancock ofMassachusetts. Within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back toVirginia to preside over theHouse of Burgesses; Hancock succeeded him as president, andThomas 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 thecontinental ban on trade with Britain.[4]
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TheFirst Continental Congress had sent entreaties to KingGeorge III to stop theIntolerable Acts. They also created theContinental 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, theAmerican Revolutionary War had started by that time with theBattles 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, thepatriots 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 theSiege of Boston in order to prevent the movement by land ofBritish troops stationed there. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to create theContinental Army out of themilitia units aroundBoston, and the next day unanimously approved a motion namingGeorge Washington ofVirginia as its commanding general.[5][6]
On July 6, 1775, Congress approved aDeclaration of Causes outlining the rationale and necessity for taking up arms in theThirteen Colonies. Two days later, delegates signed theOlive Branch Petition toKing George III affirming the colonies' loyalty tothe crown and imploring the king to prevent further conflict. However, by the time British Colonial SecretaryLord Dartmouth received the petition, King George III had already issued aproclamation on August 23, 1775, in response to theBattle of Bunker Hill, declaring elements ofBritain's continental American possessions to be in a state of what he called an "open and avowedrebellion". 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-dayLiberty County sentLyman 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 aprovincial 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 lacked the authority to levy taxes and was instead compelled to request funds, supplies, and troops from the individual states to sustain the war effort. These requests were frequently disregarded, highlighting the limitations of the central government under the Articles of Confederation.
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 byJohn 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, theVirginia 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. Theresolution 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 the 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 thedivine right of kings in theNew World, but recognized the necessity of proving their credibility in theOld World.[12]
Congress formally adopted theresolution of independence, but only after creating three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, aModel Treaty, and theArticles 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, theUnited States Declaration of Independence which was approved on July 4 and published soon thereafter.
The Congress moved toBaltimore in the winter of 1776–77 to avoid capture by British forces who were advancing onPhiladelphia during theBritish Army's attempt to capture the city, which was then the revolutionary capital of theThirteen Colonies. In Baltimore, the Congress met atHenry Fite's tavern, the largest building in Baltimore at the time, which 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 BritishRoyal Navy's ships should they attempt to sail up theharbor and thePatapsco River to shell the town. Congress was again forced to flee Philadelphia at the end of September 1777, as British troopsseized and occupied the city; they moved toYork, Pennsylvania, where they continued their work.
Congress passed theArticles of Confederation on November 15, 1777, after more than a year of debate, and sent it to the states forratification. Approval by all 13 states was required for theestablishment 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 theUnited 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 ofwestern 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]
| 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 | |
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| 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] |
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| Preceded by | Second Continental Congress May 10, 1775 – March 1, 1781 | Succeeded by |
| 1774 |  | |
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| 1775 | ||
| 1776 | ||
| 1777 | ||
| 1778 | ||
| 1781 | ||
| 1783 | ||
| United States founding events | |
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