Intercontinental Conference of the Congress
Intercontinental Conference of the Congress:
The new laws were condemned as repressive. They were meant to suppress Massachusetts but other colonies gathered together to support and extend their help to Massachusetts. The citizens of Virginia made a proposal to convene a conference of the representatives of all colonies at Philadelphia, which was accepted unanimously.
The first intercontinental conference of the Congress started on September 5, 1774, and was attended by the representatives of all the colonies except Georgia. Among the prominent representatives of the Legislative Assemblies of various colonies, there were John Adams and Samuel Adams from Massachusetts, George Washington and Patric Henry from Virginia, John Routledge and Christopher Gadstlin from South Carolina, Stephen Hopkins from Rhodes Island, and John Dickinson from Pennsylvania.
The objective of the conference was not to demand complete independence, but only autonomy in internal affairs. A declaration charter was drafted in accordance with the decisions arrived at in the conference and was sent to England. It was a charter of rights and complaints which requested the annulment of all regulations formulated after 1765. As a threat, the decision to boycott the use of British goods was also conveyed. The significant contribution of the Congress was the formation of an intercontinental organization, which revived the system of commercial boycott. It was decided to organize vigilance committees in every village so that they might send, the names of the consumers of the British goods to the Congress. On October 22, 1774, the Conference ended with a decision that another conference would be convened in the future to discuss the ensuing problems.
A war between the government and the public had started before another conference of the congress could be convened. Samuel Adams and other demagogues fanned the indignation of the public against England. Everyone turned a deaf ear to the arguments of the British Governor General Gaize. When Gaize learned that the rebels were collecting arms at Concord, a village 18 miles away from Boston, he sent troops to seize the arms. A group of volunteers tried to hamper the march of the British troops near Lexington village but in vain. Eight volunteers fell in an encounter. The news spread to all the colonies immediately. The British troops retreating from Concord had to clash with thousands of volunteers and a lot of soldiers were killed. This remarkable incident which occurred on 14 April may be reckoned as the beginning of the Independence War of USA.
On May 10, 1775, the bloody battles of Concord and Lexington had hardly ended when another intercontinental conference of the Congress was convened in Philadelphia. John Hancock- a rich businessman presided over the meetings of the conference. Great leaders like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin graced the conference with their presence. George Washington was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of America. The reason for launching a war against the oppressive measures taken by England was pointed out. It was emphasized that it was far better to die for freedom than to lead the life of a slave. It was resolved that arms would be used to defend freedom. The colonists still considered the British Parliament their enemy. But George III committed a series of mistakes and declared the colonists as rebels.