Colonies Unite for Action and Early Revolutionary Events (1774-1775)

First Continental Congress (September 5, 1774)

• On $\text{September } 5, 1774$, $50$ delegates from every colony except Georgia meet in Philadelphia.

• Two actions:

  • a) Organize a boycott - Continental Association

  • b) Send a Declaration of Rights and Grievances to King George III (meet for $1\text{ month}$)

• Met for $1\text{ month}$ and came back a year later

Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

• General Thomas Gage learns of a stockpile of arms near Concord, MA

• Sends a detachment to destroy the stockpile and arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock

• Troops leave at night on $April 18, 1775$

• Paul Revere, William Daws, and Samuel Prescott ride out to alert the Countryside

• $April 19, 1775$

  • a) Soldiers reach Lexington and meet $70$ colonial militiamen

  • b) “Shot heard around the World” is fired and $8$ militia men are killed and the rest scattered

  • c) Soldiers move on to Concord and destroy the supplies they can find

  • d) Small battle at Concord Bridge (North Bridge) and the British soldiers retreat to Boston

  • e) Back to Boston

  • i) Soldiers are harassed as they retreat

  • ii) $273$ British casualties

  • iii) Colonists set up a siege around Boston

Second Continental Congress (May 10, 1775)

• A. Attempts at Appeasement

  • 1. Olive Branch Petition: said they didn’t want to separate from Britain, but wanted to stay in the government

Connections to Foundational Principles (contextual interpretation)

• The sequence reflects a shift from conciliation to escalation: from petitions and boycotts to armed conflict and calls for unified political action.

• A pattern of seeking legitimacy through formal declarations (Declaration of Rights and Grievances) before escalating to military resistance.

• Emergence of a collective colonial identity: multiple colonies acting in concert via the Continental Congress framework.

Ethical, Philosophical, and Practical Implications

• Tension between loyalty to the Crown and claims of colonial rights and representation (no taxation without representation vs. parliamentary authority).

• Balancing unity and diversity among colonies: Georgia initially not included in the Continental Congress, highlighting regional differences even as they coordinate actions.

• The use of petitions and nonviolent means (Olive Branch Petition) as a test of colonial leaders’ willingness to pursue reconciliation before embracing independence.

• Practical impact of the Continental Association: economic pressure through a boycott as a method to influence imperial policy without immediate violence.

Numbered references and key terms (summary)

• Delegates at First Continental Congress: $50$

• Date of First Continental Congress: $ext{September } 5, 1774$

• Location of First Continental Congress: Philadelphia

• Two actions chosen: boycott (Continental Association); Declaration of Rights and Grievances

• Time references: $1\text{ month}$ (duration of meetings)

• Lexington engagement date: $April 19, 1775$ (start of clashes)

• Lexington militiamen: $70$

• Casualties at Lexington: $8$ killed

• British casualties at Concord retreat: $273$

• Second Continental Congress start date: $ext{May } 10, 1775$

• Olive Branch Petition aim: avoid separation, seek to stay within government