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After the Boston Tea Party, the British closed Boston Harbor. They also banned unapproved town meetings.
Each new action by the British made colonists more afraid that they’d lose all rights to self-government. Some leaders urged colonists to prepare for war. Others tried to calm people down. When fighting broke out, colonial leaders had to take a stand.
◀ In the early 1770s, many young men in the colonies joined volunteer fighting units. These were called militias. In Massachusetts, the minutemen militia said they were ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
Angered by new taxes and other British policies, 56 colonial leaders met in Philadelphia in 1774 for the First Continental Congress. They came from every colony except Georgia. Delegates (people who represent others) wrote a paper. It said the colonists had a right to run their own affairs. It warned that if the British attacked, they’d fight back. It also asked colonists to stop buying British goods. Before leaving, the delegates agreed to meet again if relations with Britain didn’t improve. ▶
▲ One month later, colonial leaders came to Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. They met at the Pennsylvania State House and talked about a plan of action.
The Key Players at the Second Continental Congress
▲ Massachusetts leader John Adams was an early supporter of American independence. At the Second Continental Congress, John and his cousin Samuel Adams rejected attempts to make peace with Britain. John argued that Britain had no right to tax or govern the colonists. He later became the second president of the United States.
▲ Virginia delegate George Washington was an officer during the French and Indian War. Washington believed that American colonists needed to stand up for their rights, even if that meant fighting the British. The Second Continental Congress named him commander of the Continental Army. Later, Washington became our first president.
▲ At the Second Continental Congress, Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Franklin laid out a plan for a new government that united the colonies. During the American Revolution, Franklin became the American ambassador to France. He helped talk the French into aiding the Americans. Franklin was known for his intelligence and sense of humor.
▲ John Dickinson of Pennsylvania wanted the colonies to stay loyal to the British government. He disagreed with British taxes and actions. But he led a group who thought that John and Samuel Adams’s ideas for independence were too radical. Dickinson helped write the Olive Branch Petition.
Check It Out!
What was the Olive Branch Petition?
The Olive Branch Petition asked King George III to respond to some of the colonists’ complaints. But the king called the colonists traitors and he refused even to read it.
◀ George III was king of Great Britain for 60 years, beginning in 1760 and ending in 1820. But he didn’t rule all that time. In 1811, he was declared unfit to rule because he was insane. He believed that all colonists had a duty to follow British laws. So he didn’t listen to the colonial leaders’ complaints. Instead, he told his officials to control the colonies with force. He thought showing off his military power would bring the colonists to their knees. But the fighting that started at Lexington and Concord helped make Americans feel less allegiance to him. His refusal to compromise turned many loyal colonists against him.
