First Continental Congress Assembles
- When
- 1774
- Where
- Carpenters' Hall
- Episodes
- 1
Twelve colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia in September 1774 to coordinate a response to British punitive measures. The assembly convened at Carpenters' Hall, establishing a collective boycott of British goods to pressure Parliament to repeal the Intolerable Acts.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Following the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts and the Navy blockaded Boston Harbor. These coercive actions prompted colonial delegates to organize a meeting to discuss a unified response to the Crown's punitive measures.
Assembly. Delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies gathered at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia beginning on September 5, 1774. Georgia did not attend due to prevailing Loyalist sentiments. The delegates engaged in spirited discussions to establish a common cause against British coercion.
Outcomes. The Congress adopted a Declaration and Resolves that included the Continental Association. This compact mandated a boycott of British goods starting December 1, 1774, unless Parliament rescinded the Intolerable Acts. The assembly also planned to invite other colonies to a future second congress.
People involved
- Delegates of twelve colonies · Participants
- Georgia · Absent colony
Sources
- First Continental Congress Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-18
- Philadelphia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.