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After the Boston Tea Party, the British closed Boston Harbor and banned unapproved town meetings.
With each new action by the British, the colonists grew more afraid that they would lose all rights to self-government. While some leaders urged colonists to prepare for war, others tried to ease tensions. 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, called militias. In Massachusetts, the minutemen militia claimed to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
Outraged 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 at certain kinds of meetings) wrote a statement insisting on the right of the colonists to run their own affairs. They warned that if the British attacked, they would fight back. They called on 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 to discuss 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 it 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 put forth a plan for a new government that united the colonies. During the American Revolution, Franklin became the American ambassador to France and helped convince the French to aid the Americans. He was known for his intelligence and sense of humor.
▲ Pennsylvanian John Dickinson wanted the colonies to stay loyal to the British government. While he disagreed with British taxes and actions, he led a group of representatives who, like him, 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 address some of the colonists’ complaints. Calling the colonists traitors, the king refused to even read it.
◀ George III was king of Great Britain for 60 years, beginning in 1760 and ending in 1820, although he did not reign that entire 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. Instead of listening to the complaints of colonial leaders, he urged his officials to try to control the colonies through force. He thought a show of military power would bring unruly colonists to heel. But instead, the fighting that started at Lexington and Concord helped to end Americans’ feelings of allegiance to him. His refusal to compromise turned many formerly loyal colonists against him.
