When
the First Continental Congress adjourned October 26, 1774, the delegates
agreed to meetagain
on May 5, 1775. The Second
Continental Congress met as
agreed on May 5, 1775. This
wasafter the battles at Lexington
and Concord on April 19th.
Sam Adams, John Adams, BenjaminFranklin, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, and
George Washington were some of the delegates.
There was mixed feelings about what should be done about the continued
hostile acts of theBritish Parliament. Some delegates wanted immediate
independence no matter what the cost.Others were still loyal to King George
III and even though
they did not like the British
taxation without
representation, they wanted to avoid an all-out war with England.
They finally decided to go slowly and not make any drastic moves that might
start a major war.On the other hand,
they also felt they needed
to protect themselves, so they
established theContinental
Army and named George Washington
as Commander-in-Chief. George
Washington was officially commission on June 17, 1775, the same day as
the Battle of
Bunker (Breed's ) Hill.They
also passed a "Declaration of
Causes of Taking up Arms,"
which named England as an
aggressor and gave the Colonists
the right to take up arms
against the British.
The debate over how the colonies could remain
united but keep their individual
rights continued.In July 1776
the Articles of Confederation
were presented to Congress as a
way to define both the central
government and the state governments. The Articles passed in 1777, but
were not ratified
by all the states until 1781.
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