First+Continental+Congress

= = = __The First__ __Continental Congress __ BY: Cara Pearson &  Erin Fioritto = = =

The first continental congress assembled in Carpenters' hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 5, 1774. 11 of the English-American colonies met, these colonies were N.H., M.A., R.I. ,C.T., N.Y,. N.J,. P.A., D.E., M.D., V.A., S.C., and N.C., for a total of 54 representatives. Peyton Rudolph was chosen to be president of the congress, and Charles Thomas was appointed secretary. When trying to decide how to vote, they came to the conclusion that each colony would have 1 vote. Patrick Henry said his famous speech at the opening of the congress:

"British oppression has effaced the boundaries of the several common colonies; the distinction between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New-Englanders is no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American."

They appointed a committee to state rights of colonists.In the middle of September, there was a theater of heated debates.The southern members of the congress were disturbed by a clause in the American Association, which proposed the abolition of slavery. This created tension between the North and the South, which contributed to the civil war which happened about 86 years later.

The sessions of the Continental Congress were opened at the following times and places: Sept. 5, 1774, Philadelphia; May 10, 1775, ditto; Dec. 20, 1776, Baltimore; March 4, 1777, Philadelphia; Sept. 27, 1777, Lancaster, Pa.; Sept. 30, 1777, York, Pa.; July 2, 1778, Philadelphia; June 30, 1783, Princeton, N. J.; Nov. 26, 1783, Annapolis, Md.; Nov. 1, 1784, Trenton, N. J.; Jan. 11, 1785, New York. This continued to be the place of meeting from that time until the adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1788. From 1781 to 1788 Congress met annually on the first Monday in November, which time was fixed by the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. The presidents of the Continental Congress are listed in the chart below, along with where they were from. (chart from http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/political/continental-congress.htm)

Henry Middleton Peyton Randolph John Hancock Henry Laurens John Jay Samuel Huntington Thomas McKean John Hanson Elias Boudinot Thomas Mifflin Richard Henry Lee Nathan Gorham Arthur St. Clair Cyrus Griffin || Virginia South Carolina Virginia Massachusetts South Carolina New York Connecticut Delaware Maryland New Jersey Pennsylvania Virginia Massachusetts Pennsylvania Virginia || Sept. 5, 1774. Oct. 2, 1774. May 10, 1775. May 24, 1775. Nov. 1, 1777. Dec. 10, 1778. Sept. 28, 1779. July 10, 1781. Nov. 5, 1781. Nov. 4, 1782. Nov. 3, 1783. Nov. 30, 1784. June 6, 1786. Feb. 2, 1787. Jan. 22, 1788. ||
 * Who they are || Where they are from ||
 * Peyton Randolph