The Journals of the Continental Congress are official records from the first three representative bodies of the original

United Colonies The United Colonies of North-America was the official name as used by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia for the newly formed proto-state comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared. ...

and ultimately the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

was formed and met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Its purpose was to address "

intolerable acts The Intolerable Acts, sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists fo ...

" and other infringements imposed on the colonies by the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. Davis, 2000, p. 39 On October 20, 1774, the First Continental Congress passed the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

, and it ultimately formed the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

in May 1775 which, through 1781, was responsible for authoring and considering issuance of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

and other critical articles, which are considered founding documents of the nation. The

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

, which also convened in Philadelphia and existed from 1781 to until the establishment of American independence in 1789, succeeded the Second Continental Congress. These are the important papers, letters, treaties, reports, and assorted records, some of which are iconic and famed and others of which remain obscure, that contributed to the revolutionary establishment of American independence and subsequent establishment of the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

. Between 1904 and 1937, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

published a complete edition of these papers titled ''Journals of the Continental Congress'', a 34-volume edition edited by Worthington C. Ford.

Citations

General and cited references

*
National Archives Information on the Papers of the Continental Congress Revolutionary War Papers (including Continental Congress records)
* Journals at archive.org: *
Contemporary and early printings
*
Secret journals (first published in the 1820s)
*
Library of Congress edition (1904-1937)
Continental Congress Documents of the American Revolution Confederation period {{US-poli-book-stub

See also

Citations

General and cited references