Overview "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separatrly." Benjamin Franklin is said to have spoken these words on July 4, 1776, as he and the other members of the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. Those who heard him may have chuckled. But they also may have felt a shiver, for Franklin's humor carried a deadly serious message. In this section, you will follow the events that led to the momentous decision to break with Great Britain. You will also consider the new State governments that were established with the coming of Independence.
Britain's Colonial Policies The 13 colonies, which had been separately established, were separately controlled uner the king, largely through the Privy Council and the Board of Trade in London. Parliament took little part in the management of the colonies. Although it did become more and more interested in matters of trade, it left matters of colonial administration almost entirely to the Crown. Over the century and half that followed the first settlement at Jamestown, the colonies developed within that framework of royal control. In theory, they were governed in all important matters from London. But London was more than 3,000 miles away, and it took nearly 2 months to sail that distance across a peril-filled Atlantic. So, in pratice, the colonists became used to large measure of self-government. Each colonial legislature began to assume broad lawmaking powers. Many found the power of the purse to be very effective. They often bent a royal governor to their will by not voting the money for his salary until he came to terms with them. As one member of New Jersey's Assembly put it: "Let us keep the dogges poore, and we'll make them do as we please." By the mid-1700s, the relationship between Britain and the colonies had become, in fact if not in form, federal.this meant that the central government in London was responsible for colonial defense and for foreign affairs. It also provided a uniform system of money and credit and a common market for colonial trade. Beyond that, the colonies were allowed a fairly wide amount of self-rule. Little was taken from them in direct taxes to pay for the central government. The few regulations set by Parliament, mostly about trade, were largely ignored. This was soon to change. Shortly after George III came to the throne in 1760, Britain began to deal more firmly with the colonies. Restrictive trading acts were imposed, mostly to support British troops in North America. Many colonists took strong exception to these moves. They objected to taxes imposed on them from afar. This arrangement, they claimed, was "taxation without representation." They saw little need for the costly presence of British troops on North American soil, since the French had been defeated and their power broken in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The colonists considered themselves British subjects loyal to the Crown. They refused, however, to accept Parliament's claim that it had a right to control their local affairs. The king's ministers were poorly informed and stubborn. They pushed ahead with their policies, despite the resentments they stirred in America. Within a few years, the colonists faced a fateful choice: to submit or to revolt.
Growing Colonial Unity A decision to revolt was not one to be taken lightly - or alone. The colonies would need to learn to work together if they wanted to succeed. Indeed long before the 1770s, several attempts had been made to promote cooperation among the colonies.
Early Attempts In 1643 the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut settlements formed the New England Confederation. A confederation is a joining of several groups for a common purpose. In the New England Confederation, the settlements formed a "league of friendship" for defense against the Native Americans. As the danger from Native Americans passes and friction among the settlements grew, the confederation lost importance and finally dissolved in 1684. In 1696 William Penn offered an elaborate plan for intercolonial cooperation, largely in trade, defense, and criminal matters. It received little attention and was soon forgotten.
The Albany Plan In 1754 the British Board of Trade called a meeting of seven of the northern colonies at Albany: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the problems of colonial trade and the danger of attacks by the french and their Native American allies. Here, Benjamin Franklin offered what came to be known as the Albany Plan of Union. In his plan, Franklin proposed the formation of an annual congress of delegates from each of the 13 colonies. That body would have the power to raise military and naval forces, make war and peace with the Native Americans, regulate trade with them, tax, and collect customs duties. Franklin's plan was ahead of its time. It was agreed to by the representatives attending the Albany meeting, but it was turned down by the colonies and the Crown. Franklin's plan was to be remembered later.
The Stamp Act Congress Britain's harsh tax and trade policies of the 1760s fanned resentment in the colonies. Parliament had passed a number of new laws, among them the Stamp Act of 1765. That law required the use of tax stamps on all legal documents, on certain business agreements, and on newspapers. The new taxes were widely denounced, in part because the rates were perceived as severe, but largely because they amounted to "taxation without representation." In October of 1765, nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York. They prepared a strong protest, called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, against the new British policies and sent it to the king. These actions marked the first time a significant number of the colonies had joined to oppose the British government. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but frictions mounted. New laws were passed and new policies were made to tie the colonists more closely to London. Colonists showed their resentment and anger in wholesale evasion of the laws. Mob violence erupted at several ports, and many colonists supported a boycott of English goods. On March 5, 1770, British troops in Boston fired on a jeering crowd, killing five, in what came to be known as the Boston Massacre. Organized resistance was carried on through Committees of Correspondence, which had grown out of a group formd by Samuel Adams in Boston in 1772. These committees soon spread through the colonies, providing a network for cooperation and the exchange of information among the patriots. Protests multiplied. The famous Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. A group of men, disgised as Native Americans, boarded three tea ships in Boston harbor and dumped the cargo into the sea to protest British control of the tea trade.
The First Continental Congress In the spring of 1774, Parliament passes yet another set of laws, this time to punish the colonists for the troubles in Boston and elsewhere. These new laws, denounced in America as the Intolerable Acts, prompted widespread calls for a meeting of all the colonies. Delegates from every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. Many of the ablest men of the day were there: Samuel Adams and John Adams of Massachusetts; Roger Sherman of Connecticut; Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island; John Dickinson and Joseph Galloway of Pennsylvania; John Jay and Philip Livingston of New York; George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Patrick Henry of Virginia; and John Rutledge of South Carolina. For nearly two months the members of that First Continental Congress discussed the worsening situation and debated plans for action. They sent a Declaration of Rights, protesting Britain's colonial policies, to King George III. The delegates urged each of the colonies to refuse all trade with England until the hated taxes and trade regulations were repealed. The Delegates also called for the creation of local committees to enforce that boycott. The meeting adjourned on October 26, with a call for a second congress to be convened the following May. Over the next several months, all the colonial legislatures, including Georgia's, gave their support to the actions of the First Continental Congress.
The Second Continental Congress During the fall and winter of 1774-1775, the British Government continued to refuse to compromise, let alone reverse, its colonial policies. It reacted to the Declaration of Rights as it had to other expressions of colonial discontent - with even stricter and more repressive measures. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. By then, the Revolution had begun. The "shot heard 'round the world" had been fired. The battles of Lexington and Concord had been fought three weeks earlier, on April 19.
Representatives Each of the 13 colonies sent representatives to the Congress. Most of those had attended the First Continental COngress were again present. Most notable among the newcomers were Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts. Hancock was chosen president of the Congress. Almost at once, a continental army was created, and George Washington was appointed its commander in chief. Thomas Jefferson then took Washington's place in the Virginia delegation.
Our First National Governemt The Second Continental Congress became, by force of circumstance, the nation's first national government. However, it rested on no constitutional base. It was condemned by the British as an unlawful assembly and a den of traitors. But it was supported by the force of public opinion and practical necessity. The Second Continrntal Congress served as the first governemt of the United States for five fateful years, from the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 until the Articles of Confederation went into effect on March 1, 1781. During that time the Second Continental Congress fought a war, raised armies and a navy, borrowed funds, bought supplies, created a money system, made treaties with foreign powers, and did those other things that any government would have had to do in the circumstances. The unicameral Congress exercised both legislative and executive powers. In legislative matters, each colony - later, State - had one vote. Executive functions were handled by committees of delegates.

Our Political Beginnings | The Coming of Independence | The Critical Period | Creating the Constitution | Ratifying the Constitution