The First Continental Congress, Part I

On September 5, 1774, fifty delegates from eleven colonies crowded into the long room of Philadelphia’s City Tavern to commence a Continental Congress, to address what the colonies might do to fight the British Intolerable Acts. Those Acts had been wreaking havoc since the spring, exacerbating the harm done by the earlier Navigation Acts that crippled American commerce.

The delegates chose the crowded room to have less chance of being overheard by those already calling them traitors just for meeting together, but soon moved to the larger Carpenter’s Hall and were joined by delegates from a twelfth colony. Georgia chose not to attend, because it did not want to challenge Great Britain, a stance replicated by the colonies of North and South Florida, Nova Scotia, and two other Canadian areas.

Most delegates were rich men who had inherited their wealth.

Most delegates were rich men who had inherited their wealth. Only Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania and Roger Sherman of Connecticut could be called self-made. They were almost all veterans of colonial legislatures, used to the ways of politics and power, and fairly conservative. Some had attended the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, which had succeeded in getting that hated act rescinded.

Of the more radical delegates – Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina – only Henry proposed independence, and the idea was quickly voted down and he was relegated to a secondary committee where he couldn’t do much damage.

The delegates were determined to be fair to one another, and to not impose the tyranny of the majority, which occurs when a narrow majority forces its will on a considerable fraction that is in the minority. When they disagreed over whether to accept the legitimacy of the earlier British Navigation Acts and reject the later ones, and the sentiment was five colonies for and five against – the vote was not held at all. Rather, the delegates sought another, less divisive way of dealing with the problem.

What rights did the colonists have? Thomas Jefferson, who was ill and had returned to Monticello, sent along his “A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” in which he claimed the rights as those enjoyed by the British, including free trade, which he described as a “natural” right. One malicious result of British regulation, he added, was slavery, and so “the abolition of domestic slavery is the great object of desire in those colonies where it was unhappily introduced.” His anti-slavery notion was shunted aside in Philadelphia but the delegates liked a lot of what Jefferson wrote about their having the same rights as their overlords.

The question of what, precisely, to do about that was answered by Paul Revere, in a long-distance ride bringing the “Suffolk Resolves,” which the Massachusetts colonial legislature had just approved, to the anger of British General Gage and other British-appointed officials. First adopted by the county of Suffolk a year earlier, it mirrored material from Committees of Correspondence of Middlesex, Essex, and Worcester counties, it had urged all counties to close their courts and refuse to prosecute people for violations of the Intolerable and Navigation Acts.

The Resolves were quietly radical: boycott British imports and refuse to use British products; ignore and not obey the hated acts; demand resignations from colonists appointed under the acts; refuse to pay taxes unless the Massachusetts Government Act (over-riding the colonial legislature) was rescinded; and to raise a militia to defend the colonists from the British, should that become necessary.

Would the Continental Congress endorse the Suffolk Resolves? Delegate John Adams wrote in his diary, “This is one of the happiest days of my life. In Congress we had generous, noble sentiments, and manly eloquence. This day convinced me that America will support Massachusetts or perish with her.”

Early in October the Congress adopted the Suffolk Resolves and lay the groundwork for a more formal boycott and non-importation act, and the sending of a last-ditch olive branch letter directly to King George III. They put off the most important votes for the last week of the meeting.

Next: What the First Continental Congress finally agreed upon in October 1774, and its revolutionary consequences.

Salisbury resident Tom Shachtman has written many books, including three about the Revolutionary Era.

Latest News

'Gather' at Troutbeck

Romane Recalde speaking about her new business at Gather.

Natalia Zukerman

Hosted by Jason Klein and Sascha Lewis, an ongoing series called “Gather” at Troutbeck in Amenia brings together a curious crowd of local entrepreneurs, artists, and others with a story to tell for an intimate midday chat. On Thursday, Jan. 16, floral designer Romane Recalde, owner of the newly opened Le Jardin in Amenia, took center stage to share her journey from modeling in Miami to cultivating flowers in the Hudson Valley. Gather is a place to share stories, swap advice, and celebrate some of the unique businesses that make our area vibrant — all with a delicious lunch on the side. The gatherings are unconventional in the best way, with no agenda beyond good conversation and community building.

Recalde’s story isn’t just about creating a flower shop; it’s about a complete reinvention of self. “I hated Miami so much,” said the French-born Recalde, recalling her time in Florida before moving to New York. She worked as a model in New York, and eventually met her husband, James. Their pandemic escape to Turks and Caicos turned into a six-month stay, which in turn led them to Millbrook and finally to their home in Amenia, where Recalde’s connection to nature blossomed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mad Rose opens ‘Assembled’ exhibition
Mad Rose Gallery director Michael Flowers contributed to the gallery's "Assembled" exhibit with a series of collaged landscape photographs
Nathan Miller

Mad Rose Gallery’s “Assembled” exhibition opened Saturday, Jan. 18, with a public reception.

The eclectic exhibition — on view until March 2 at the gallery on the intersection of Routes 22 and 44 in Millerton — gathers together work from a group of diverse artists with decades of experience between them. The exhibition itself is true to the name, featuring photographs, sculptures, drawings and mixed media works in all shapes and sizes.

Keep ReadingShow less
The fragile bonds of family: a review of Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters'

Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters' is written with such verve and poetic imagination that it’s hard to fathom how it could be the author’s first novel. Ms. Lerner, 64, has worked for three decades as a literary agent, editor, and non-fiction writer, but at some point during the Covid pandemic — without any forethought — she sat down and typed out the first line of the novel exactly as it now appears in the book, and then completed it without telling anyone what she was up to.

The novel takes place over twenty years — from the 1970s into the ’90s — and is a kind of guide for that era. It reads like a memoir accompanied by some bouncy dialogue, but is actually a work of what’s called autofiction in which Lerner mixes her own experiences — including her own struggle with mental illness — with things she simply makes up. The fictional narrator is Amy Shred, the younger of two sisters in an upper-middle-class, secular Jewish family living in the suburbs of New Haven, Connecticut.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lazy, hazy days of...winter?

This small stream is fishable, despite the wintry conditions. It probably won't be a pleasant or productive experience, but it can be done.

Patrick L. Sullivan

When syndicated columnists run out of ideas they do one of two things.

First they collect the last couple year’s worth of columns and call it a book. These are published to great acclaim from other syndicated columnists and show up in due course in gigantic, ziggurat-shaped mounds at Costco for $4.98 a pop.

Keep ReadingShow less