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The First and Second Continental Congress

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The First and Second Continental Congress

History-101
Dr. Robert Young
May 22, 2014

From 1774 to 1789, the first Continental Congress served as the single government of the original 13 American colonies and later to become the United States of America. It was comprised of delegates from the colonies which met in 1774 to the reaction of the Coercive Acts which were a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to the new taxes imposed by the British. The American dream is built upon a foundation of struggles and gains, along with more struggles. A look back to early American history provides one with a timeline that seems endless and full of surprises.
The First Continental Congress serves as one of those timeline markers and is a great example of the American way. Being one of the first meetings ever between the colonists, Congress laid one of the first bricks into the foundation of America. The First Continental Congress made its mark in history on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia’s Carpenters Hall. The idea of such a meeting was advanced a year earlier by Benjamin Franklin, but failed to gain much support until after the Port of Boston was closed in response to the Boston Tea Party. Twelve of the thirteen colonies sent representatives to this secret meeting, “Georgia decided against roiling the waters; they were facing attacks from the restive Creek on their borders and desperately needed the support of regular British soldiers.”
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 greatly fueled the First Continental Congress. In response to the Boston Tea party, the British Parliament decided that a series of laws were needed to calm the rising resistance in America. “One law closed Boston Harbor until Bostonians paid for the destroyed tea. Another law restricted the activities of the Massachusetts

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