Patrick
Henry at the first Continental Congress
In
response to the Intolerable Acts, America's first
Continental Congress met on September 5, 1774. 56
delegates from 12 colonies met at Carpenter's Hall
in Philadelphia to discuss a unified position and
Parliament's assertion that it could control the
colonies. Georgia
was the only colony that refused to send a delegate.
As
part of the convention, John
Adams drafted the Declaration of Rights which
countered that America need not respect decisions
by Parliament that involved domestic affairs within
America. Furthermore, the delegates agreed to resume
the boycott on British goods until the Intolerable
Acts were repealed. During the two-month long convention,
delegates also agreed that if the new royal governor
of Massachusetts
attempted to rule by force, the residents had a
right to defend themselves, and that colonists from
througout America would come to their aid. The congress
agreed to meet again in May of 1775.
