In 1774, representatives from England’s American colonies convened in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the First Continental Congress. (See
Continental Congress, First.) Their mission was to address problems
with English rule, particularly that England seemed to be removing the
colonists’ right of self-government. From September through October, the
delegates at the Congress passed a series of resolutions calling for a change
in English policy and appealing to British and colonial citizens for support.
The delegates left the Congress with plans to reconvene in May 1775.
Wartime convention
When the delegates returned to Philadelphia for the Second Continental
Congress, matters with England had worsened. The delegates were
tasked with organizing diplomatic efforts to recover the rights and liberties being threatened by English rule. Reports of military clashes between
the colonists and British soldiers in Massachusetts reached the delegates
early in the convention.
This changed the mood of the delegates. Congress began to prepare
for war. It resolved to give aid to Massachusetts, to take over the provincial army in Boston, and to raise a colonial army to be overseen by
George Washington (1732–1799).
While efforts to improve relations with England continued, hopes
began to dwindle as military clashes increased. The conviction gathered
strength that only war against England would preserve the rights and liberties of the colonists. On July 2, 1776, Congress adopted a resolution
to become independent from England. Two days later, it announced the
American Declaration of Independence, the formal document declaring
independence from British rule. Forming a government
American independence meant that the Second Continental Congress
became the unifying governmental body for the thirteen colonies. The
responsibility for raising funds, building an army, and organizing the
colonies for the fight for independence fell to the members of Congress.
To provide a structure for this effort, the delegates began at once to craft
a framework for a government in which all thirteen colonies would have
representation.
After a year and a half of work and debates, on November 15, 1777,
Congress proposed a governmental structure under the Articles of
Confederation. The articles would create a government run by Congress
without an independent president or a full-fledged judicial branch.
Approval of the articles required ratification by the individual colonies,
which were now called states.
While ratification was in process, Congress conducted itself as set
forth by the rules in the articles. Getting state cooperation for raising
funds, supplies, and militias for the revolutionary effort proved difficult.
Only when France and Spain joined the American cause did the former
colonies muster the strength necessary to defeat England. Fighting ended
in September 1781 (though a peace treaty was not signed until 1783).
Months before fighting ended, on March 1, 1781, Maryland became the last of the thirteen states to approve the Articles of
Confederation. While the articles established a unifying body of government, it proved inadequate in many ways. Fearful of excessive governmental power, Congress had written the articles to prevent the central
government from being too strong. The result was a government that
lacked enough control to run the nation as some people wanted. In
1789, the states replaced Congress and the articles with a new federal
government under the Constitution of the United States, which delegates wrote at a federal convention in 1787.