Question

What was the Second Continental Congress? What happened there, and who was involved? Compare and contrast the FCC with the SCC. What changed?

Answer 1

The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia between September 5, 1774, and October 26, 1774. The Second Congress managed the Colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence. It eventually adopted the Lee Resolution which established the new country on July 2, 1776, and it agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Congress acted as the de facto national government of the United States by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties such as the Olive Branch Petition.

The Second Continental Congress came together on May 11, 1775, effectively reconvening the First Continental Congress. Many of the 56 delegates who attended the first meeting were in attendance at the second, and the delegates appointed the same president(Peyton Randolph) and secretary (Charles Thomson). Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts. Within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses; he was replaced in the Virginia delegation by Thomas Jefferson, who arrived several weeks later. Henry Middleton was elected as president to replace Randolph, but he declined. Hancock was elected president on May 24.

In May 1775, with Redcoats once again storming Boston, theSecond Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. The questions were different this time. First and foremost, how would the colonist meet the military threat of the British.It was agreed that a Continental Army would be created.

• The Congress appointed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army, and authorized the raising of the army through conscription.

• On July 4, 1776, the Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, which for the first time asserted the colonies’ intention to be fully independent of the mother country.

• The Congress established itself as the central governing authority under the Articles of Confederation, which remained in force until 1788.

The Main Issue Debated During the Second Continental Congress. The mostimportant issue debated by the Second Continental Congress was whether to declare independence from Britain.

It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia between September 5, 1774, and October 26, 1774. The Second Congress managed the Colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence.

Comprison of First continental congress and second continental congress.

The First Continental Congress: met in response to the Intolerable Acts. TheFirst Congress started a boycott of British goods and a Second Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress created the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

The Congress met briefly to consider options, including an economic boycott of British trade and drawing up a list of rights and grievances; in the end, they petitioned King George III for redress of those grievances.

The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies who met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament, which the British referred to as the Coercive Acts, with which the British intended to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

The Congress also called for another Continental Congress in the event that their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts. Their appeal to the Crown had no effect, and so the Second Continental Congress was convened the following year to organize the defense of the colonies at the onset of the American Revolutionary War. The delegates also urged each colony to set up and train its own militia.

Accomplishment

The Congress had two primary accomplishments. The first was a compact among the Colonies to boycott British goods beginning on December 1, 1774.The West Indies were threatened with a boycott unless the islands agreed to non-importation of British goods.Imports from Britain dropped by 97 percent in 1775, compared with the previous year.Committees of observation and inspection were to be formed in each Colony to ensure compliance with the boycott. All of the Colonial Houses of Assembly approved the proceedings of the Congress, with the exception of New York.

If the Intolerable Acts were not repealed, the Colonies would also cease exports to Britain after September 10, 1775. The boycott was successfully implemented, but its potential for altering British colonial policy was cut off by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.

The second accomplishment of the Congress was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet on May 10, 1775. In addition to the Colonies which had sent delegates to the First Continental Congress, the Congress resolved on October 21, 1774, to send letters of invitation to Quebec, Saint John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), Nova Scotia, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida.However, letters appear to have been sent only to Quebec (three letters in all). None of these other colonies sent delegates to the opening of the Second Congress, though a delegation from Georgia arrived the following July.

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