Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress

Context

Tension had been building between the thirteen North American colonies since the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, through which Britain had secured Canada. Ending a period of neglect that Britain had pursued in the colonies before the war, England increased the presence of its troops in America during this conflict and thought that it was appropriate to tax the colonies for the armies' continuing expenses. British leaders thought that their legislature, Parliament, represented all English citizens, including those who had settled in America, and could thus exercise sovereignty over them. Americans increasingly rejected this view, known as “virtual representation,” for “actual representation,” under which Parliament could represent only areas that had elected representatives. Since American colonists were not properly represented in Parliament, Patriots concluded that Parliament could neither legislate for nor tax the colonies—functions that should be therefore reserved for colonial assemblies.

Britain challenged this assumption when it began enacting a series of revenue measures, beginning with the Sugar Act (1764) and culminating in the Stamp Act (1765). In Virginia, Patrick Henry introduced a resolution, adopted by the House of Burgesses, asserting that only it had the right to tax its citizens. Massachusetts issued a call that resulted in the convocation of representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies at the Stamp Act Congress in October, 1765. This congress petitioned for the laws' repeal and resolved not to import items subject to such taxes. The petition, along with mob action in the streets and a change of ministries in Britain, led Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. At the same time, however, Parliament asserted through the Declaratory Act (1766) that it still had taxing power. Later, with the adoption of the Townshend Revenue Act in 1767, Parliament enacted new duties. These duties, together with vigorous methods of collection and the continued presence of British troops in American colonies, provided additional sources of friction, such as the actions of a mob that led to the so-called Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, in which frightened British troops fired into a crowd, killing five people.

In time, the British repealed all of their taxes except for a token tax on tea. Continued colonial concern over this assertion of parliamentary sovereignty led colonial Patriots, dressed as Indians, to toss English tea into Boston Harbor. The British retaliated with a series of measures known as the Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts), which included shutting down Boston Harbor. The Virginia House of Burgesses, meeting in Richmond, expressed support for the Bostonians. As in the earlier Stamp Act crisis, colonists sent representatives, this time to Philadelphia, to articulate their grievances and consider collective action.