First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress was a 1774 meeting of delegates from twelve British American colonies that coordinated resistance to British policies while seeking reconciliation.

Declaration and Resolves: A 1774 statement of colonial rights and grievances adopted by the First Continental Congress. It set out the Congress’s constitutional case against Parliament’s coercive measures.
Boston Tea Party: A 1773 protest in which colonists destroyed East India Company tea in Boston Harbor. The protest prompted Parliament to impose punitive measures that the Congress opposed.
Peyton Randolph: A Virginia lawyer and politician who served as president of the First Continental Congress. As presiding officer, he guided the meeting’s proceedings and represented intercolonial unity.
Second Continental Congress: A 1775–1781 assembly of colonial delegates that directed the Revolutionary War and established the United States. The First Congress called for another meeting if its petitions failed to secure redress.
Continental Association: A 1774 agreement to halt imports from and exports to Britain unless colonial grievances were addressed. It turned the Congress’s protest into a coordinated economic boycott.
Coercive Acts: A series of 1774 British laws that punished Massachusetts and altered its government after the Boston Tea Party. These laws supplied the immediate grievance that brought delegates together.
John Adams: A Massachusetts lawyer and political leader who became a prominent advocate of colonial resistance. His notes and writings offer a record of the Congress’s debates and his evolving views.
Petition to the King: A 1774 appeal by the First Continental Congress asking George III to address colonial grievances and restore harmony. Its failure to change British policy helped drive the colonies toward further collective action.
Nonimportation: A political tactic in which people refuse to import goods from a targeted country or supplier. The Continental Association relied on nonimportation to pressure Britain.
Boston Port Act: A 1774 law that closed Boston Harbor to most trade until Massachusetts paid for the destroyed tea. The harbor closure made the punishment of Boston a concern for colonies beyond Massachusetts.

Linked from 6 pages