第二届大陆会议

介绍

第一届大陆会议 adjourns on 26 October 1774, but delegates resolve to reconvene in May 1775 if Parliament does not address their grievances. Delegates return to their respective colonies and play a vital role in ensuring that Congress's mandates are implemented. 在伦敦, Parliamentary factions debate the merits of offering concessions to the colonies, although the British ministry takes no official notice of Congress's petitions and addresses. 1774年11月30日，木已成舟 when King George III opens Parliament with a speech condemning Massachusetts and the Suffolk Resolves. 很明显，国会需要再次开会.

1775年4月19日，马萨诸塞州爆发战争. Many delegates are already en route to Philadelphia, where Congress convenes on 10 May 1775. 著名的新成员包括本杰明·富兰克林, 约翰·汉考克, 和莱曼大厅, the lone delegate representing a single parish in Georgia. 在马萨诸塞州, 省代表大会, formed when military governor Thomas Gage dissolved the legislature in 1774, 需要建议. 认为 "盖奇将军实际上发动了战争" 对他们, Massachusetts patriots hope Congress will suggest a mechanism for creating a civil government to manage the colony.

Congress resolves to prepare for war but continues to seek reconciliation. Unwilling to completely abandon their hope for peace, Congress 伸出橄榄枝 to the king through another petition, approved in July 1775. William Penn carries the document to London, but the king refuses to see him. Instead, the king issues a proclamation on 23 August declaring America to be in a state of “公开和公开的反叛."

Petitions and declarations stir up patriotic sentiment, but that alone will not win the war. Hoping to win Canada as an ally—and thereby eliminate a potential route of invasion for the British—Congress urges the "oppressed inhabitants of Canada" to 加入美国的事业并派代表到国会. 与此同时, the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775 forces many delegates to rethink their position on reconciliation. 随着战斗的记录传到费城, Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson are drafting the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking up Arms. 约翰·亚当斯称这份文件为精神饱满的宣言.

On 14 June, Congress creates a continental army and appoints George Washington commander-in-chief. Before sending Washington to Boston to meet the troops in July, Congress adopts a comprehensive set of military regulations designed to 指挥部队. 国会将如何支付其新军队的费用? On 22 June 1775, it approves the first release of $1 million in bills of credit (paper currency). 这是为了捍卫美国的自由, Congress authorizes the printing of another $1 million in July. (By the end of 1775, Congress will authorize a total of $6 million bills of credit.)在6月和7月的一系列活动之后, 1775年8月2日，国会暂时休会.

当该机构于9月13日重新开会时, three new delegates representing the entire colony of Georgia are present. 随着国会继续动员战争, delegates also debate the possibilities of foreign assistance and the 错综复杂的主题。美国贸易. 1776年2月, 国会收到禁酒令的消息, which subjects all American vessels to confiscation by the Royal Navy. In March 1776, Congress sends a message of its own to British shipping interests: 敌舰小心!

Opposition to independence is steadily waning in Congress, thanks in part to the popular support. 常识是1776年1月在费城出版的. 提供 “简单的事实，简单的论点和常识，” the pamphlet is a publishing success that stirs debate on the subject of independence.

Throughout 1775 and 1776, many colonies form their own provincial congresses or conventions. Given their expanding roles in the face of war these bodies need more legal authority to be effective. As Massachusetts had done in 1775, individual colonies seek the advice of Congress. 约翰·亚当斯解释了他对……的看法 “政治的神圣科学” and the most advantageous structure of government in the pamphlet 对政府的思考. 1776年5月10日, Congress passes a resolution allowing each colony to create a new provincial government. 5月15日，令人讨厌的序言添加到测量中. 约翰·亚当斯在日记中忠实地记录了这场辩论.

Many delegates fear their actions—such as the creation of new civil governments and the search for potential foreign allies—are tantamount to declaring independence. By June, delegates will be considering a resolution on the matter of independence itself.