First Continental Congress.

The Continental Congress became the government of the United States out of necessity, not design. The forty-five delegates who gathered in Philadelphia in September 1774 were not sure why they were there. Some members, such as Joseph Galloway, John Jay, and John Dickinson, thought their task was to propose common policies to pressure England to rescind its unreasonable policies. Their ultimate goal was to resolve the crisis and reconcile the colonies with England; they did not see the Congress as the beginning of a new, independent government. Some delegates, such as Patrick Henry and Samuel and John Adams, did. The reconcilers carried the day, and the first Congress rejected the idea of independence but called for a boycott of British goods to take effect in December 1774. The Congress also empowered local Committees of Safety to enforce this boycott and to set prices...