John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence depicts the five-man drafting committee presenting the first draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress.^[1]

The Second Continental Congress was a body of sixty-five representatives appointed by the legislatures of thirteen British North American colonies that met from May 10, 1775, to March 1, 1781. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774; together these two bodies constituted the Continental Congress. It was the second congress which adopted the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. During the American Revolutionary War, it acted as the de facto U.S. national government by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties.^[2] Image File history File links Declaration_independence. ... Image File history File links Declaration_independence. ... This article is about the American painter. ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence is an iconic 12- by 18-foot painting in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda depicting the presentation of the draft of the Declaration to Congress. ... The Committee of Five was the group delegated by the Second Continental Congress on June 11, 1776 to draft the United States Declaration of Independence. ... The United States Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were Free and Independent States and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to... A legislatureis a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to ratify laws. ... In 1775, the British claimed authority over the red and pink areas on this map and Spain ruled the orange. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The First Continental Congress was a body of representatives appointed by the legislatures of twelve North American colonies of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1774. ... The Continental Congress was the first national government of the United States. ... The United States Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were Free and Independent States and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to... The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... This article is about military actions only. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... National governments or national unity governments are broad coalition governments consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature and are often formed during times of war or national emergency. ...

Membership

The colonies convening at the Second Continental Congress were:

• Province of New Hampshire
• Province of Massachusetts
• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
• Connecticut Colony
• Province of New York
• Province of New Jersey
• Province of Pennsylvania
• Lower Colonies on Delaware^[3]
• Province of Maryland
• Colony and Dominion of Virginia
• Province of North Carolina
• Province of South Carolina

Georgia had not participated in the First Continental Congress and did not send delegates to the Second Continental Congress on May 10, 1775. On May 13, 1775, Lyman Hall was admitted as a delegate from the Parish of St. John's in the Colony of Georgia, not as a delegate from the colony itself.^[4] On July 4, 1775, Georgia began a provincial congress to decide how to respond to the American Revolution, and that congress decided on July 8 to send delegates to the Continental Congress. They arrived on July 20.^[5] The head delegate or president of the Second Continental Congress was John Hancock.^[6] A map of the Province of New Hampshire. ... The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony organized October 7, 1691 in North America by the monarch of England. ... Providence Plantation was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Baptist minister fleeing from religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ... A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies. ... A map of the Province of New York. ... The Province of New Jersey was an English colony that existed within the boundaries of the current U.S. state of New Jersey prior to the American Revolution. ... A map of the Province of Pennsylvania. ... Delaware Colony was an English colony in North America. ... A map of the Province of Maryland. ... A map of the Colony of Virginia. ... A map of the Province of Carolina. ... A map of the Province of Carolina. ... The First Continental Congress was a body of representatives appointed by the legislatures of twelve North American colonies of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1774. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the Georgia governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

Its predecessor, the First Continental Congress, had sent entreaties to the British King George III to stop the Intolerable Acts and had created the Articles of Association to establish a coordinated protest of the Intolerable Acts; in particular, a boycott had been placed on British goods. That First Congress provided that the Second Continental Congress would meet on May 10, 1775, to plan further responses if the British government had not repealed or modified the Intolerable Acts. By the time the Second Continental Congress met, the American Revolutionary War had already started with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Congress was to take charge of the war effort. For the first few months of the struggle, the Patriots had carried on their struggle in an ad-hoc and uncoordinated manner. They had seized arsenals, driven out royal officials, and besieged the British army in the city of Boston. On June 14, 1775, Congress voted to create the Continental Army out of the militia units around Boston and quickly appointed Congressman George Washington of Virginia over John Hancock of Massachusetts as commanding general of the Continental Army.^[7] On July 6, 1775 Congress approved "A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, now met in Congress at Philadelphia, setting forth the causes and necessity of their taking up Arms."^[8] On July 8, Congress extended the Olive Branch Petition to the British Crown as a final attempt at reconciliation. However, it was received too late to do any good. Silas Deane was sent to France as a minister (ambassador) of the Congress. American ports were reopened in defiance of the Navigation Acts. George III redirects here. ... This British cartoon depicting the Intolerable Acts as an assault upon a Native American woman (a symbol of the American colonies) was copied and distributed throughout the Thirteen Colonies. ... The Articles of Association was a petition of grievances against Great Britain by the American colonies, and a compact among them to collectively impose economic sanctions to pressure a resolution. ... This article is about military actions only. ... Combatants Militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, (Minutemen) British Army, British Marines, Royal Artillery Commanders John Parker, James Barrett, John Buttrick, William Heath, Joseph Warren Francis Smith, John Pitcairn, Walter Laurie, Hugh, Earl Percy Strength 75 at Lexington Common (Parker). ... This article concerns Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. ... Illustration depicting uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution by showing four soldiers standing in an informal group General George Washington, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. ... The role of militia, also known as civilian military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... For other persons named John Hancock, see John Hancock (disambiguation). ... The Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition, written in the early days of the American Revolutionary War, was a letter to King George III from members of the Second Continental Congress who—for the final time—appealed to their king to readdress colonial grievances in order to avoid more... The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen_in_Parliament) legislative power. ... Silas Deane (December 24, 1737 - September 23, 1789), was a delegate to the American Continental Congress and later a diplomat. ...

Although it had no explicit legal authority to govern,^[9] it assumed all the functions of a national government, such as appointing ambassadors, signing treaties, raising armies, appointing generals, obtaining loans from Europe, issuing paper money (called "Continentals"), and disbursing funds. The Congress had no authority to levy taxes, and was required to request money, supplies, and troops from the states to support the war effort. Individual states frequently ignored these requests. According to one historian, commenting on the source of the Congress' power:

"The appointment of the delegates to both these congresses was generally by popular conventions, though in some instances by state assemblies. But in neither case can the appointing body be considered the original depositary of the power by which the delegates acted; for the conventions were either self-appointed "committees of safety" or hastily assembled popular gatherings, including but a small fraction of the population to be represented, and the state assemblies had no right to surrender to another body one atom of the power which had been granted to them, or to create a new power which should govern the people without their will. The source of the powers of congress is to be sought solely in the acquiescence of the people, without which every congressional resolution, with or without the benediction of popular conventions or state legislatures, would have been a mere brutum fulmen; and, as the congress unquestionably exercised national powers, operating over the whole country, the conclusion is inevitable that the will of the whole people is the source of national government in the United States, even from its first imperfect appearance in the second continental congress."^[10]

Congress on May 10, 1776 passed a resolution recommending that any colony lacking a proper government should form such. On May 15 Congress adopted a preamble in which it advised throwing off oaths of allegiance and suppressing the authority of the Crown, while resting colonial governments on the authority of the people. That same day the Virginia Convention instructed its delegation in Philadelphia to propose a declaration of independence and formation of foreign alliances and a confederation. Without dissenting vote (although New York did abstain) the Congress accepted the Declaration of Independence on July 2.^[11] On July 4 Congress ordered the document authenticated and printed. The Virginia Conventions were a series of five political meetings in the state of Virginia in response to British colonial rule. ...

$2 paper money issued in name of United Colonies, 1775; these bills were called "continentals"

Most importantly, in July 1776, they declared independence. The actual ordinance of independence, known as the Lee Resolution, passed on July 2, and the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4 and formally signed on August 2. The Lee Resolution, or sometimes Lees Resolution, was proposed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776. ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... U.S. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Continental Congress was forced to flee Philadelphia at the end of September 1777, as British troops occupied the city. The Congress moved to York, Pennsylvania, and continued their work. Nickname: Coordinates: , Country United States State Pennsylvania County York Incorporated  - Borough September 24, 1787  - City January 11, 1887 Government  - Mayor John Brenner Area  - City  5. ...

After more than a year of debate, on November 15, 1777, Congress passed and sent to the states for ratification the Articles of Confederation, the country's first written constitution. The issue was large states wanting a larger say, nullified by small states who feared tyranny. Jefferson's proposal for a Senate to represent the states and a House to represent the people was rejected (a similar proposal was adopted later in the United States Constitution). The small states won and each state had one vote.^[12] Congress urged the individual states to pass the Articles as quickly as possible, but it took three and a half years for all the states to ratify the Articles. In the meantime, the Second Continental Congress tried to lead the new country through the war with borrowed money and no taxing power. Finally, on March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation were ratified. The Second Continental Congress adjourned and the same delegates met the next day as the new Congress of the Confederation. It would be the Confederation Congress that would oversee the conclusion of the American Revolution. is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The United States Constitution The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was a body of representatives appointed by the legislatures of the United States from March 1, 1781 to March 4, 1789. ...

Dates and places of sessions

• May 10, 1775 – December 12, 1776, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• December 20, 1776 – March 4, 1777, Baltimore, Maryland
• March 5, 1777 – September 18, 1777, Philadelphia
• September 27, 1777 (one day only), Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• September 30, 1777 – June 27, 1778, York, Pennsylvania
• July 2, 1778 – March 1, 1781, Philadelphia

is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1776 (disambiguation). ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1776 (disambiguation). ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Baltimore redirects here. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... , Official name: City of Lancaster Nickname: The Red Rose City Country  United States State  Pennsylvania County Location Penn Square  - coordinates , Highest point  - elevation 368 ft (112 m) Area 7. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Nickname: Coordinates: , Country United States State Pennsylvania County York Incorporated  - Borough September 24, 1787  - City January 11, 1887 Government  - Mayor John Brenner Area  - City  5. ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• History of the United States (1776-1789)
• List of Continental Congress Delegates
• President of the Continental Congress
• Articles of Confederation
• Timeline of United States revolutionary history (1760-1789)

// Era overview In the year AD 1776, war was beginning. ... The men in this list actually met in the Continental Congress. ... The President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress. ... The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... The Boston Massacre, an engraving by patriot Paul Revere. ...

Notes

1. ^ The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
2. ^ Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 1763-1815 p. 113.
3. ^ renamed "Delaware Colony" in 1776
4. ^ (1904–1937) in Worthington C. Ford, et al. (ed.): Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, 2:44–48. 
5. ^ ibid., 2:192–193. 
6. ^ Letter from Hancock to Washington at Library of Congress site
7. ^ Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 1763-1815 p. 59.
8. ^ http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/amarch/getdoc.pl?/projects/artflb/databases/efts/AmArch/IMAGE/.5774
9. ^ Bancroft, Ch. 34, p.353 (online)
10. ^ CONGRESS. Cyclopædia of Political Science. New York: Maynard, Merrill, and Co., 1899.
11. ^ New York did not vote on July 2 but did approve the action on July 9. Solberg p. lxx
12. ^ Miller (1948) ch 22

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Adams, Willi Paul. The First American Constitutions: Republican Ideology and the Making of the State Constitutions in the Revolutionary Era. U. of North Carolina Press, 1980. 351 pp. ISBN 0742520692
• Bancroft, George. History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent. (1854-78), vol 4-10 online edition
• Burnett, Edmund C. [1941] (1975). The Continental Congress. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0-8371-8386-3. 
• Francis D. Cogliano, Revolutionary America, 1763-1815: A Political History. London: 2000. ISBN 0415180570
• Worthington C. Ford, et al. ed. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789. (34 vol., 1904–1937) online edition
• Henderson, H. James [1974] (2002). Party Politics in the Continental Congress. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8191-6525-5. 
• Peter Force, ed. American Archives 9 vol 1837-1853, major compilation of documents 1774-1776. online edition
• James J. Kirschke. Gouverneur Morris: Author, Statesman, and Man of the World (2005) ISBN 031224195X
• Kruman, Marc W. Between Authority and Liberty: State Constitution Making in Revolutionary America. U. of North Carolina Pr., 1997. ISBN 0807847976
• Maier, Pauline. American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (1998)
• Miller, John C. Triumph of Freedom, 1775-1783 (1948) ISBN 0313207798
• Montross, Lynn [1950] (1970). The Reluctant Rebels; the Story of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-389-03973-X. 
• Rakove, Jack N. The Beginnings of National Politics: An Interpretive History of the Continental Congress. Knopf, 1979. ISBN 0801828643
• Winton U. Solberg. The Federal Convention and the Formation of the Union of the American States. (Liberal Arts Press. 1958.)

External links

• “The Continental Congress - History, Declaration and Resolves, Resolutions and Recommendations” from Americans.net
• Full text of Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789
• HeinOnline
• Interactive Flash Version of John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence"

v • d • e Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War

1774  First Continental Congress · Articles of Association   1775  Independence Hall · Second Continental Congress    1776   United States Declaration of Independence · Pennsylvania Constitution · Washington's crossing of the Delaware    1777  Articles of Confederation · Philadelphia campaign · Battle of Brandywine · Battle of the Clouds · Liberty Bell moved to Allentown · Battle of Paoli · Battle of Germantown · Siege of Fort Mifflin · Battle of White Marsh · Battle of Matson's Ford · Valley Forge    1778  Battle of Crooked Billet · Battle of Barren Hill · British occupation of Philadelphia ends · Wyoming Valley battle and massacre    1781  Congress of the Confederation