What was the outcome of the First Continental Congress meets in 1774?

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September to October 1774
As the name suggests, the Intolerable Acts were not received well amongst the colonies. Before the shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, the colonies made an attempt to settle the concerns and frustrations raised with the Intolerable Acts through debate and discussion. Thus, the First Continental Congress was called to order on September 5th, 1774. 55 colonial representatives, including famous Patriots like John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Washington, and Patrick Henry, from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to formulate a plan of action. Georgia was the only colony that did not send representatives. Virginia’s representative, Peyton Randolph, was elected president of the First Continental Congress. It was decided that each colony would be allotted one secret ballot.

“That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: And they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent”

~ Excerpt from the Declaration of Rights

Negotiations did not necessarily come easily. While many of the delegates were known for their debate and leadership skills, each colony was accustomed to debating in independent environments at home in their individual colonies. Therefore, some degree of distrust and discomfort was present. Furthermore, while each representative believed in the heinous and unjust nature of the Intolerable Acts, they differed with respect to proper solutions. Some preferred more defensive and potentially violent courses of action, such as the Suffolk Resolves, while others believed in peaceful protest like the Declaration of Rights. Despite these difficulties, the delegates overcame such obstacles and produced several highly significant results of the First Continental Congress.

Initially, Joseph Galloway proposed a plan of union with Britain that offered a form of peaceful reconciliation. Galloway proposed that the colonies create a form of government to act in conjunction with that of the British, with a colonial parliament and leaders elected by Britain. This would offer the colonists their own representation while remaining loyal to England. This plan was ultimately rejected when the Suffolk Resolves were presented, a much more drastic proposal.

Proposed on September 9th, 1774, by Dr. Joseph Warren and accepted by Continental Congress on September 17th, this plan encouraged Massachusetts to protest the Intolerable Acts by stockpiling military supplies, operating an independent government, boycotting British goods, and announcing no allegiance to Britain and a king who failed to consider the wishes of the colonists.

Reaction to these Resolves was mixed. While some supported such a bold proposal and felt it was an appropriate reaction to the British, others feared it would cause war. In truth, war was already imminent because of the differing definitions of liberty offered by the Patriots and the British. These tensions would be brought to the forefront later in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

For those members of the Congress who were in favor of a more peaceful protest, the Declaration of Rights was developed. These rights included life, liberty, property, and the right to establish their own taxes within the colonies. It also outlined reasons for a rebellion, including the Boston Port Act, Quebec Act, an oppressive presence of royal governors in the colonies, and unjust taxation without representation in government.

The final draft was accepted on October 14th, 1774, and constituted a formal declaration to King George III and the Parliament that the actions of the British must cease or else a revolution would result.

On December 1, 1774, the Continental Association was created to boycott all contact with British goods. By reversing the economic sanctions placed on the colonists, the delegates hoped Britain would repeal its Intolerable Acts. While this was quite a sacrifice to make, the Patriots were willing to do so in the name of liberty and justice for the colonies.

The First Continental Congress, Allyn Cox, 1973-1974. Architect of the Capitol.

Following these proposals, the First Continental Congress adjourned on October 22nd, 1774, after fifty-one days of deliberation and tactical planning. In the event that the Intolerable Acts were not lifted, the Congress decided to meet again. While Parliament debated its next course of action in response to the persistent acts of the colonists, tensions continued to rise between the Loyalists, Patriots, royal governors, British soldiers, and various other factions of people present in the colonies. These intense emotions were preparing to surface and culminate in “the shot heard round the world,” a direct act of war between the colonies and the British. Following debate in the Parliament, the British passed the Restraining Act on March 30th, 1775, which only succeeded in further frustrating and infuriating the colonists. The New England colonies were prevented from trading with anyone except the British and fishing was forbidden in New England waters, cutting off a critical fishing ground and food source for the Patriots.

Following the aftermath of the Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress, rumors began to circulate that war was imminent. The Second Continental Congress was preparing to meet in May since the Intolerable Acts had not been remedied or retracted. While most colonies felt a great deal of distrust towards Britain, Boston had perhaps the strongest anti-British feelings. These sentiments concerned General Thomas Gage as he pondered ways to remedy the situation and reassure those in Britain that the colonies were secure. One such way was to conduct routine raids on colonial military supplies.

While most colonies felt a great deal of distrust towards Britain, Boston had perhaps the strongest anti-British feelings.

Now alerted of a fairly organized colonial militia’s presence, the British forces continued on to Concord with caution. When they reached Concord, grenadiers began searching for supplies while the light infantry acted as guards in the event of open fire. Open fire was soon to come. After the Patriots had time to rouse more minutemen, a surprisingly large number gathered to fight the British. At the North Bridge, an unexpected shot was fired from a British soldier. Colonial commander Major Buttrick yelled, “fire!” in response and a fight began. Approximately 400 minutemen fought 700 British soldiers. Although the numbers were still in favor of the British forces, the minutemen successfully forced a British retreat back to Boston. During this retreat, minutemen (many of whom were snipers and could pick off British soldiers from hidden locations) repeatedly besieged the British troops until the Earl of Percy arrived with his British reinforcements and offered shelter to Smith and Pitcairn’s battered forces.

When in the course of human events . . .

Carpenter's Hall

The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, from September 5, to October 26, 1774. Carpenter's Hall was also the seat of the Pennsylvania Congress. All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates. These were elected by the people, by the colonial legislatures, or by the committees of correspondence of the respective colonies. The colonies presented there were united in a determination to show a combined authority to Great Britain, but their aims were not uniform at all. Pennsylvania and New York sent delegates with firm instructions to seek a resolution with England. The other colonies voices were defensive of colonial rights, but pretty evenly divided between those who sought legislative parity, and the more radical members who were prepared for separation. Virginia's delegation was made up of a most even mix of these and not incidentally, presented the most eminent group of men in America. Colo. George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendleton, Colo. Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland, and at the head of them Peyton Randolph — who would immediately be elected president of the convention.

The objectives of the body were not entirely clear but, with such leadership as was found there, a core set of tasks was carried out. It was agreeable to all that the King and Parliament must be made to understand the grievances of the colonies and that the body must do everything possible to communicate the same to the population of America, and to the rest of the world.

The first few weeks were consumed in discussion and debate. The colonies had always, up to this time, acted as independent entities. There was much distrust to overcome. The first matter to be considered by all was A Plan of Union of Great Britain and the Colonies, offered by Joseph Galloway of Pennsylvania. The plan was considered very attractive to most of the members, as it proposed a popularly elected Grand Council which would represent the interests of the colonies as a whole, and would be a continental equivalent to the English Parliament. Poised against this would be a President General, appointed by the crown, to represent the authority of the king in America. Conflict in Boston overcame the effort at conciliation. The arrival of the Suffolk County (Boston) resolves just prior to the vote on the Plan of Union, caused it to be discarded by a narrow margin.

On October 14, the Declaration and Resolves established the course of the congress, as a statement of principles common to all of the colonies. Congress voted to meet again the following year if these grievances were not attended to by England.

Several days later, on the 20th, came The Association, which was patterned after the Virginia Association and others that followed. This was a pact for nonimportation of English goods, to establish mechanisms throughout the colonies to enforce and regulate the resistance to Great Britain, and to keep the channels of communication open. It was to become effective on December 1, 1774 unless parliament should rescind the Intolerable Acts.