THE REVOLUTIONARY SHORE – October 4, 1774

Pictured: George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Edmund Pendleton going to the Congress of the Colonies, 1774, by Henry Bryan Hall, ca. 1886. 

By Kellee Blake

THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

On this very day, 250 years ago . . . 

Colonial politicians took little notice of the pretty Pennsylvania fall as they hurried to Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia.  The situation in Boston continued to deteriorate and the hard hand of British forces was felt in Massachusetts and beyond. An intercolonial assemblage for action could wait no longer and fifty-five representatives (from every colony but Georgia) gathered in the Pennsylvania capital. They had been brainstorming and debating for a month as they sought redress, rights, and a way forward within the British Empire.  They were the First Continental Congress. 

Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton represented Virginia. Randolph, longtime leader in Virginia’s House of Burgesses, was immediately and unanimously elected President. His signature would be the first boldly affixed to some of the most daring documents of our nation. 

The representatives brought wildly differing views regarding British oversight and colonial autonomy.  They knew their negotiations must be forceful, yet respectful and nimble, so chose Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Adams of Massachusetts and South Carolina’s John Rutledge to craft a “loyal” petition of grievances to King George.  The legally skilled authors listed the many disruptive actions to “the harmony between Great Briton [sic] and these colonies.” The full text of their concerns is found at https://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=663&mode=large&img_step=3&pid=2#page3). This “Petition of 1774” was ignored by Parliament and the King. Of course, Congress would famously try again. 

Nearly all the 1774 colonial representatives agreed on one thing; they would make their displeasure known by boycotting most goods produced by Great Britain.  Before the First Continental Congress disbanded, they signed “Articles of Association” (https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/contcong_10-20-74.asp). Not only did they promise non-consumption of the East India tea, but coffee and syrups from British islands, indigo, etc., all to begin on December 1, 1774.  The articles would help the suffering people of Boston and also promote colonial agriculture and manufactures. This pathbreaking agreement between colonies would hurt the British more than anyone imagined.  

Join WESR on the 4th of each month to learn more about Virginia and the Shore’s role in the War for Independence.  Get ready for the Revolutionary Shore!