The Second Continental Congress was a provisional government representing the 13 colonies during the American Revolutionary War. They created the Continental Army, assumed legislative and executive authority, and issued the Declaration of Independence, leading to the formation of the United States.
The Second Continental Congress was a unicameral delegation representing the 13 colonies during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The convention met for the first time in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1775. It was one of the first provisional governments in United States history. With the establishment of this representative body, the nation secured the foundations of a government that would continue to function to the present day.
In the timeline of the revolutionary history of the United States, the Second Continental Congress followed the First Continental Congress held the previous year. All colonies except Georgia sent representatives to this first delegation to address the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. The First Continental Congress petitioned King George III and considered boycotting British goods. They disbanded with the understanding that a second meeting would be convened if necessary the following year. With the onset of conflict in Lexington and Concord, the colonies found themselves in a state of war.
Most of the First Continental Congress delegates returned for the second meeting, and new additions included Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson. Virginia Delegate Peyton Randolph was elected proceeding chairman, but had to return to the House of Burgesses in his home state after two weeks. Henry Middleton was then elected to office but declined and was replaced by John Hancock. At first, Georgia did not participate in the convention, but starting in July, the colony’s Provincial Congress had no choice but to join.
One of the first actions the Second Continental Congress took was to create the Continental Army. The war effort had been run mostly by state militias, resulting in a haphazard rebellion that seemed doomed to failure. George Washington was made commanding general and immediately sent to the siege of Boston. On July 6, 1775, Congress passed the Declaration of Causes, outlining the reasons for the armed conflict. In a last-ditch effort for peace, he sent the Olive Branch Petition to the British, hoping to resolve the conflict before it escalated.
Congress spent the next year consolidating its power, assuming the role of legislative and executive authority of the 13 colonies. He appointed an ambassador to France, obtained loans from European nations, issued paper money and went on to raise an army. The main challenge facing the delegation was the lack of legal authority to raise taxes. As such, states had to be solicited for funds, sometimes to no avail.
In 1776, the Second Continental Congress operated as the national government. To signify his power, he issued what would be one of the most important documents in the nation’s history: the Declaration of Independence, ratified on July 4, 1776. The following year, delegates approved the Statute of the Confederacy, an agreement to form a government representative with each colony becoming a state. This was ratified by the states over the next few years, finally being adopted on March 1, 1781. Delegation was then abolished, and the Congress of the Confederacy became the new governing body of the United States.
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