What was the purpose of the Continental Congress?

The purpose of the Continental Congress was to coordinate the colonial response to British policy, first by organizing peaceful resistance to the Coercive Acts in 1774 and then by directing the war effort, declaring independence, conducting diplomacy, and laying the foundations of national government from 1775 through 1789.

The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774 with 56 delegates from 12 colonies (only Georgia stayed away). Its purpose was specifically to coordinate response to Britain's punitive Coercive Acts of 1774. It endorsed the Suffolk Resolves on September 17, 1774, adopted the Declaration and Resolves on October 14 listing colonial rights, signed the Continental Association nonimportation pact on October 20, and sent petitions to King George III, the British people, and the people of Quebec. Before adjourning the delegates agreed to reconvene if grievances were not redressed.

The Second Continental Congress assembled at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) on May 10, 1775, three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord. With all 13 colonies eventually represented, its purpose evolved over six years. From 1775 it directed the war effort, adopting the Continental Army on June 14, 1775 and naming George Washington commander on June 15, 1775.

From 1776 it moved toward independence and beyond. The Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776 and adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It commissioned diplomats including Benjamin Franklin to seek French aid, drafted the Articles of Confederation between 1776 and 1777, and emitted Continental currency to fund the war.

After the Articles took effect on March 1, 1781 the body became the Confederation Congress with the same broad purposes: foreign relations, war and peace, postal service, coinage, settlement of state disputes, and admission of new states. Notable accomplishments under the Articles included the Treaty of Paris of September 3, 1783 ending the war and securing American independence, the Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785 organizing the western territories, and the Northwest Ordinance of July 13, 1787 establishing the procedure for admitting new states on equal footing and prohibiting slavery north of the Ohio River.

The Congress operated with each colony or state casting a single vote regardless of size, kept its proceedings secret, and selected its president as a presiding officer rather than an executive. Presidents during the era included Peyton Randolph, John Hancock, Henry Laurens, John Jay, John Hanson, and Cyrus Griffin. The Congress dissolved on March 4, 1789 when the new federal government under the Constitution took office in New York City.