Delegates from the Thirteen Colonies came together at the Second Continental Congress in the late 1700s to support the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War that followed, which led to the country’s independence from the British Empire. The United States of America was the new nation that the Congress established in 1776 after first naming it the United Colonies. Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, to begin the Congress.
The First Continental Congress, which convened in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, was succeeded by the Second Continental Congress. At the start of the Revolutionary War, the Second Congress raised militias, oversaw policy, and served as the de facto national government.
Up until March 1, 1781, Congress served as the United States of America’s temporary government. It created the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, approved the first U.S. constitution, obtained diplomatic recognition and backing from other countries, handled state land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains, and successfully oversaw the military effort during this time.
A large number of delegates from the First Congress had also attended the Second. They chose Charles Thomson to serve as secretary and Peyton Randolph to serve as president of the Congress once more.[/2] John Hancock of Massachusetts and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania were two notable newcomers. Randolph was called back to Virginia to chair the House of Burgesses in less than two weeks.
History of Second Continental Congress
De facto government
King George III had received pleas from the First Continental Congress to halt the Intolerable Acts. In order to organize a concerted opposition to these measures, they also founded the Continental Association and boycotted British products. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the American Revolutionary War had already begun, and the Congress was called upon to assume leadership of the war effort. Consequently, the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, to strategize additional responses should the British government fail to repeal or amend the acts.
During the initial few months of the Revolutionary War, the patriots fought in a mainly disorganized and haphazard manner. Nevertheless, they enjoyed great success, taking control of multiple British arsenals.
The Second Continental Congress decided on June 14, 1775, to organize the militia forces circling Boston into the Continental Army. The next day, they overwhelmingly accepted a motion designating George Washington of Virginia as the army’s commanding commander.(5)(6)
A Declaration of Causes explaining the justification and requirements for armed action in the Thirteen Colonies was authorized by Congress on July 6, 1775. Two days later, representatives signed King George III’s Olive Branch Petition, pledging the colonies’ allegiance to the throne and pleading with him to avert more hostilities. But by the time the letter reached British Colonial Secretary Lord Dartmouth, King George III had already responded to the Battle of Bunker Hill with a proclamation on August 23, 1775, stating certain aspects of Britain’s.
Georgia didn’t send delegates to the First Continental Congress and didn’t take part in the Second. However, when the Revolutionary War intensified, the people of modern-day Liberty County’s St. John’s Parish sent Lyman Hall to the conference in Philadelphia on their behalf.[8] Because he did not speak for the entire colony, he took part in debates but did not cast a ballot.In [9] After a provincial congress resolved in July 1775 to forbid trade with Britain and send representatives to the Continental Congress, that changed.*[4]
The Continental Congress assumed all the duties of a national government, including selecting ambassadors, negotiating treaties, building troops, selecting generals, securing loans from Europe, and printing paper money, even though it lacked explicit legal permission from the British to rule[10].
In 1776, Congress was headed toward proclaiming its independence from the British Empire, but many of the members did not have the power from their home governments to make such a bold move. Reluctant colonial rulers were pressured by pro-independence activists to change the directives they sent to their delegates or even to overthrow those that refused to grant independence.
A resolution advocating for the formation of an independent government in any colony without one was voted by Congress on May 10, 1776. John Adams’s more radical preamble to this resolution, which called for rejecting oaths of allegiance and stifling the Crown’s power in any colonial administration that still received its authority from it, was approved by them on May 15.
On that very day, the Virginia Convention gave its delegates in Philadelphia instructions to draft a resolution advocating for the states’ confederation, foreign alliance formation, and declaration of independence. As proponents of independence gathered backing within their respective home governments, the motion to declare independence was postponed for a few weeks.
Richard Henry Lee presented the Congress with a resolution on June 7, 1776, recognizing the independence of the colonies. He called on Congress to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states and to resolve “to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances.”11] Lee maintained that since no European king would deal with America if they remained Britain’s colonies, independence was the only path to securing a foreign alliance.
Only after forming three overlapping committees to produce the Declaration, a Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation did Congress legally accept the resolution of independence. The Articles of Confederation established “a firm league” among the thirteen free and independent nations; the Declaration announced the states’ entry into the world system; and the model treaty was intended to establish amity and commerce with other states.
All three of these items together made up an international agreement to establish central organizations for managing important foreign and domestic matters.11] On July 2, 1776, Congress finally gave its approval to the resolution of independence. The United States Declaration of Independence, which was ratified on July 4 and published shortly after, served as a formal justification for this choice.
Provisional government
In the winter of 1776–1777, the Congress relocated to Baltimore in order to elude capture by British armies pressing on Philadelphia. At the time, Henry Fite’s tavern was the biggest structure in Baltimore and offered Congress a spacious and comfortable place to convene.
Should the ships of the British Royal Navy try to cruise up the harbor and the Patapsco River to shell the town, they would not be able to easily reach its location at the western border of town. At the end of September 1777, Congress was once more forced to escape Philadelphia when British troops captured and took control of the city; they then relocated to York, Pennsylvania, where they carried out their duties.
After more than a year of deliberation, Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777, and sent them to the states for approval. The constitution has to be established with the consent of all 13 states. Jefferson suggested creating a Senate to represent the states and a House to represent the people. This idea was eventually incorporated into the US Constitution, but it was rejected.
One point of contention was that minor states, fearing tyranny, opposed the wishes of great states for more influence. Every state was given one vote once the tiny states won.13] Another concerned western land claims, wherein states lacking such claims demanded that those possessing them surrender them to Congress. Western land claims persisted as written.