First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia's Carpenters Hall. It was held from September 5 until October 26 in 1774. The idea of doing a Continental Congress was of Benjamin Franklin, but for their disgrace it failed because of the closing of the Boston Port by the Boston Port Act. The Boston Port Act was one of the five Acts of the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts.

Of the 13 colonies only twelve sent delegates because Georgia was under attack and they need help from the British army.

Some of the delegates were: George Washington, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Jay, and John Dickinson.

The Major Actions took by the Congress were:

·         The Galloway Plan of Union- It urged for the creation of an American parliament to act in concert with the existing British body. The opinion for this was divided.

·         The Suffolk Resolves- They were a series of political statements given to Philadelphia. The majority of the colonies voted in favor of the resolves and against the Galloway Plan.

·         The Association- The Association established boycotts by means of non-importation, non-exportation and non-consumption agreements. To ensure this each colony would have a committee that would tell who is against the agreement.

·         Declaration of Rights and Grievances- The Congress composed a statement of American complaints. It was addressed to King George III, to whom the delegates remained loyal, but not to the Parliament.

·         Future Meeting- They agreed to do a Second Continental Congress if the colonial complains hasn’t been properly addressed. It was later stated that the meeting would be in May of next year.

After all what happened the First Continental Congress was considered as a success by the delegates and the people.