Browsing: Continental Congresses – Building a Nation

The First Continental Congress met from September 5th to October 26th, 1774 in Carpenter’s Hall, the seat of the Pennsylvania Congress. Triggered by the Intolerable Acts, the purpose of the Congress was to present a united voice to the authority of Great Britain. Fifty six delegates from 12 colonies attended, they were chosen by their legislatures or by their committees of Correspondence.  Georgia did not attend but did send representatives to the  . Carpenter’s Hall, the site of the First Continental Congress . Representatives to the First Continental Congress New Hampshire: Nathaniel Folsom, John Sullivan. Massachusetts Bay: John Adams, Samuel…

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Word arrived that the newly formed  had chosen to defy the British government. General Gage was ordered to suppress the rebellion in Massachusetts and seize the leaders of the Sons of Liberty, among them Samuel Adams and John Hancock. On April 19th, 1775 nearly 800 redcoats were dispatched to Concord, twenty miles west of Boston. They were ordered to seize the militia’s arsenal and capture their leaders. Citizens of Concord had found 72 hours before that soldiers were coming to the village to destroy their weapons taking precautionary measures to hide the ammunition. The night of April 19th as the…

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The Second Continental Congress succeeded the  and took place in Philadelphia starting on May 10th 1775 right after the. . Independence Hall, home to the Second Continental Congress. . Congress was divided into three factions. One group of conservatives led by John Dickinson, the author of the Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania, who fought to compel Great Britain to return to pre-1763 conditions. A second group, directed by Thomas Jefferson, believed that “British parliament had no right to exercise authority over us” and considered the king as a sole and final authority. This second group had the support of…

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Congress adjourned in late July 1775 and the Massachusetts delegation returned home. After a four month absence John was anxious to see his family but as soon as he arrived home he was informed that his brother Elihu had died of dysentery. Adams spent his time in Massachusetts with his family and attending sessions in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in Watertown. Adams returned to Congress in September 1775. A day after his departure Abigail, Thomas and three servants fell ill of dysentery. The healthy ones, Nabby,  and Charles were sent away. Once in Pennsylvania Adams got involved in the Maritime…

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John Adams served in Congress for four years, from 1774 to the end of 1777. During this time Adams served in a total of ninety committees, of which he chaired twenty. At the end of 1777 John Adams was simultaneously involved in twenty six committees, he was chairman of eight. No other congressman was as involved as Adams, as a result he spent much of his time away from home separated from his wife and children. Adams felt validated and his confidence in his skills and oratory abilities steadily grew during the duration of congress. He was asked to write…

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Thoughts on Government As revolution entered its second stage John Adams counseled Congress that the next step towards independence was to build America’s own institutions. John made his view public in a pamphlet published anonymously in April 1776, titled Thoughts on Government.  This pamphlet had an enormous impact on the way government was structured and influenced the drafting of constitutions in many colonies including Massachusetts. According to Adams the purpose of government is to promote happiness and to secure it for the largest number of citizens. A republican government was better suited for this purpose. The structure of government he…

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PREAMBLE The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of government is to secure the existence of the body-politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it with the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural rights and the blessings of life; and whenever these great objects are not obtained the people have a right to alter the government, and to take measures necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness. The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals; it is a social compact by which the whole people covenants with each citizen…

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