American Rights

The First Continental Congress

The first Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. Fifty-three men showed up representing twelve of the colonies. They decided to gather to talk about their common interests and determine policies that would work for them all. The Congress did not try to govern or rebel. The conservative ambassadors wanted to create a type of colonial parliament that would share authority with the British parliament, but the plan was defeated by more zealous rebels. 

Suffolk Resolves

During the meeting, a courier from Boston came riding in with the Suffolk Resolves, a set of resolutions that declared the Intolerable Acts null, urged Massachusetts to prepare to defend itself, and demanded boycotts against British commerce.

Declaration of American Rights

In the wake of the resolves, the Congress adopted a Declaration of American Rights, which proclaimed the rights of Americans as English citizens and told Parliament that it had no authority over internal colonial affairs. The Continental Association of 1774 asked every town to form a committee to enforce a boycott on all British goods. These committees eventually became the organizational and communications networks for the revolutionary movement.

The King fumed over the colonials’ bold stand against him. He wrote his prime minister, saying that the “New England colonies are in a state of rebellion” and “blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent.” Parliament did not want to compromise; instead it declared Massachusetts in open rebellion.

Lexington and Concord

Through late 1774 and early 1775 rebels continued to rouse citizens. Loyalists to the crown were either uncertain or unorganized and did not counter. The Continental Congress urged each colony to mobilize its militia, and these men, soon known as the Minute Men, would need to be ready for action at a moment’s notice. That moment came quickly. The British military outside Boston received orders to capture and arrest leaders of the Provincial Congress and to seize the militia’s supply depot at Concord, about twenty miles away. About 700 soldiers set out by way of Lexington, and when the patriots got wind of the plan, they sent messengers riding through the night to warn all Patriots.

At dawn on April 19, 1775, British soldiers found a small contingent of Minute Men waiting on the Lexington green. The Americans had begun backing away quietly, planning only a silent protest, when one of the British officers rode into them and yelled, “Disperse, you damned rebels! You dogs, run!” Then a soldier shot into the Americans and hell broke loose. British soldiers charged with their bayonets at the ready. Eight Americans were killed and ten wounded, and the British hastily tried to get their men under control and back on the road to Concord.

By the time they reached the village, the Americans had already hauled off most of the munitions, but the British destroyed what they could. Turning to march back to Boston, the British discovered that the Minute Men had lined the road, sniping at them from behind every house, fence, rock, and tree. More than 250 British soldiers were killed as they fled to safety. Explore the following map to learn more about Lexington and Concord.

Second Continental Congress

The war for independence had finally begun. When the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, Boston was under siege by the Massachusetts militia, who was trying to take the city back from the British. With no resources and no authority, the Congress determined to assume the role of a de facto government. Fighting had broken out everywhere, and Congress quickly named George Washington General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington’s service during the French and Indian War made him one of the most experienced soldiers in America.

Battle of Breed’s and Bunker Hills

The very day Washington was commissioned, the British and colonials engaged in their first major battle at Breed’s and Bunker Hill outside of Boston. The rebels were ready to fight and used picks and shovels to fortify the high ground of the peninsula. With civilians watching from rooftops, the British commander General Thomas Gage ordered 2,200 of his soldiers to march through tall grass and advance up the hills. The Americans waited patiently behind their hastily assembled earth works, watching the Brits in their bright red wool coats slowly make their way. When they were about fifteen to twenty paces away, the Minute Men let loose a volley and cheered as the world’s best soldiers ran in panic. But the British were not ready to surrender. Within half an hour, they reformed and led another attack. Once again the Americans mowed them down but on the third attack, the colonials began to run out of gunpowder. The colonials resorted to throwing stones, and the British soldiers finally made it to the militia and routed them with bayonets. The British regained the high ground but at an enormous cost: more than a thousand soldiers died. Only about 400 colonials were killed.

Compromise

In a final attempt to make peace, the Continental Congress issued the Olive Branch Petition and the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms. The documents professed continued loyalty to King George III, begged him to restrain hostilities until reconciliation could be reached, and rejected independence but asserted the colonials rights to fight rather than submit to “slavery.”

Prohibitory Act

The king was so angry he did not even look at the document. He called the colonists “open and avowed enemies” and issued a proclamation of rebellion the next day. Parliament issued the Prohibitory Act, which stated that England would seize all colonial ships--a virtual declaration of war. Still the colonials did not declare their independence. Although every word indicated that the crown believed them to be at war, the Continental Congress held back.

Common Sense

Stirring up protest was one thing, but convincing the majority of the population to declare independence was another. To arouse that kind of universal sentiment, Thomas Paine began writing political pamphlets. His Common Sense helped break the bonds with Britain by calling the king a “royal brute,” claiming that it was ridiculous for an entire continent to be ruled by an island. Paine renounced British tyranny and demanded the creation of a democratic government. His most compelling argument was that a formal declaration of independence was needed so that the colonies could receive foreign aid, which would be absolutely necessary if the colonials hoped to succeed. The pamphlet proved a best-seller and more than 150,000 copies were printed in a few months. Everyone either read it or heard about it. Paine’s arguments consumed tavern conversations for most of early 1776.

Declaration of Independence

Inspired by Paine’s radical rhetoric, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence and it was adopted on July 4, 1776. The declaration declared the rights of citizens to revolt against tyranny and outlined the colonials’ specific grievances against King George III. The declaration restated John Locke’s contract theory of government. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document claims that governments derived “their just Powers from the consent of the people,” who could alter or abolish those governments when they ceased to meet the people’s needs--those needs being their “unalienable rights” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”