A Historic Gathering at the First Continental Congress
In 1774, the First Continental Congress brought together many influential leaders from colonial America. 56 men, including George Washington and John Adams, met to formulate a response to England’s Coercive Acts, which closed the port of Boston and revoked Massachusetts’ colonial charter in response to the Boston Tea Party. This historic gathering was the first time complete separation from England was openly discussed.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses how the seed of independence was planted at the First Continental Congress, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of the Library of Congress, Mount Vernon, National Archives, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, New York Public Library, Yale University Art Gallery, Wikipedia.
As befitting a wealthy landowner in colonial Virginia, George Washington became active in the colony’s politics in the 1750s. He first ran for a seat representing Frederick County in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1755 but lost the election. Interestingly, it was the only political race he would ever lose. Washington ran for that same seat in 1758 and was victorious, and he held this seat for seven years.