First Continental Congress
Convened to discuss united resistance to the Coercive "Intolerable" Acts and issued a Declaration of Rights and the Articles of Association
Articles of Association Articles of Association (20 October 1774)U.S. National Archives
In response to the Intolerable Acts, delegates at the First Continental Congress agreed on a number of resolutions, or “resolves,” that asserted the colonists’ rights and defended their resistance to British rule.
Articles of AssociationU.S. National Archives
The document was formally titled the Declaration of Rights and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, but was also known as the Declaration of Colonial Rights.
1774: Colonial unity forged
The British Parliament passed a series of Coercive Acts to punish Boston after the "tea party". Americans referred to it as the Intolerable Acts. The colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to present a united front to the Coercive Acts.
The First Continental Congress convenes
Meeting at Carpenters' Hall, delegates debated and adopted policies to protect colonial rights in the British Empire. Though the Congress met with hopes of peace, their measures they passed failed to avert war and total separation with Great Britain.
Colonial resistance takes shape
Over seven weeks, 56 delegates representing 12 colonies (except Georgia) passed a series of measures to unify colonial resistance to the Coercive Acts. No one advocated for American Independence. They set a date for a Second Continental Congress, but the war came before this.
The Continental Association
On October 20, 1774, the delegates signed the Articles of Association "Continental Association" to unify American economic resistance, and also called to "wholly discontinue the slave trade". They also called for the establishment of local committees to enforce these articles.
'Unite or Die' ReproductionU.S. National Archives
Enforcing unity
All free women and men were encouraged to join the Continental Association. Local committees were tasked with reporting neighbors who participated in British trade. They became a powerful network that promoted economic and military unity during the American Revolution.
Maryland was one of the first colonies to direct "every person in the province" to implement the Continental Association. Eligible voters throughout the colonies elected local committees, as many as 1,000, to enforce the Continental Association's provision.
This satirical cartoon depicts a diverse crowd of common people pressuring elite Virginians to sign the Continental Association. The tar and feathers in the background shows what will happen if they refuse.
On October 14, 1774, delegates approve a series of resolves which define colonist' rights and justified resistance to British policies addressed to the King and British people. Parliament was excluded. Congress's statements foreshadowed the Declaration of Independence.
First Continental Congress is part of Road to Revolution, a series of displays highlighting National Archives records that document the journey from colonial resistance to American independence and the diverse experiences of the nation's founding generation.
Road to Revolution is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation, through the generous support of Comcast Corporation, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble.
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