The First Continental Congress: A Revolutionary Assembly

In September 1774, delegates from twelve of Britain’s thirteen North American colonies gathered in Philadelphia for what would become known as the First Continental Congress. This assembly represented a watershed moment in colonial history, marking the first organized intercolonial response to British imperial policies. The delegates were not revolutionaries in the modern sense—they sought redress of grievances within the British constitutional framework rather than immediate independence. Yet their very gathering signaled a profound shift in colonial political consciousness.

The Congress emerged from years of growing tension between colonies and crown. The Seven Years’ War had left Britain with enormous debts, leading Parliament to impose new taxes on the colonies through the Sugar Act . Colonial resistance to these “taxation without representation” measures had grown increasingly organized through committees of correspondence and non-importation agreements. The Intolerable Acts of 1774, punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, finally pushed the colonies toward collective action.

What made this Congress revolutionary was its composition: delegates were selected through various methods by the colonial legislatures themselves, creating a representative body that derived its authority from the colonies rather than from the British government. Though they maintained their separate colonial identities, the delegates began operating as a collective political entity—the “United Colonies” that would eventually become the United States.

The Path to Independence: Second Continental Congress and Beyond

When the Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, the military clashes at Lexington and Concord had already occurred. The Congress now faced the practical challenges of managing a growing conflict while maintaining colonial unity. It quickly assumed the functions of a national government: creating the Continental Army with George Washington as commander-in-chief, establishing a currency, conducting foreign relations, and ultimately declaring independence.

The critical turning point came with Richard Henry Lee’s resolution of May 10, 1776, urging colonies to form new governments “adequate to the exigencies of their affairs.” This recommendation acknowledged that the existing colonial governments, based on royal authority, could no longer function effectively. Several colonies had already taken steps toward establishing independent governments, but Lee’s resolution provided the impetus for comprehensive constitutional reorganization throughout the colonies.

Between 1776 and 1780, all thirteen colonies adopted written constitutions—a revolutionary concept at the time. These documents transformed colonies into states, creating republican governments based on popular sovereignty rather than royal authority. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, drafted primarily by John Adams, proved particularly influential with its separation of powers and declaration of rights that would later inspire the federal Bill of Rights.

The Declaration of Independence: Birth of Sovereign States

The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, represented the formal political birth of the United States. Its famous preamble articulated Enlightenment principles of natural rights and government by consent that would inspire revolutions worldwide. Equally significant was the document’s practical political function: it transformed the United Colonies into the United States by declaring them “free and independent states.”

The term “states” here carried profound constitutional significance. In eighteenth-century political theory, a “state” possessed sovereignty—the ultimate authority to govern itself without external interference. By declaring themselves states, the former colonies claimed full sovereignty under international law. This created immediate tension between state sovereignty and national unity that would characterize American politics for decades.

The Declaration’s listing of grievances against George III served not merely as justification for separation but as a collective statement of political principles. By accusing the king of violating the British constitution through his treatment of the colonies, the revolutionaries positioned themselves as defenders of traditional English liberties rather than radical innovators. This conservative revolutionary rhetoric helped maintain broader support for independence among colonists who might have hesitated at more radical proposals.

The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution

Even before declaring independence, Congress recognized the need for a formal framework for intercolonial cooperation. In June 1776, it appointed a committee chaired by John Dickinson to draft articles of confederation. The resulting document, the Articles of Confederation, represented a careful balance between national needs and state sovereignty.

The Articles established the United States as a “firm league of friendship” among sovereign states rather than a consolidated nation. This structure reflected colonial experiences with British central authority and the widespread belief that republics could only survive in relatively small, homogeneous territories. The document carefully preserved state sovereignty while creating minimal national institutions to handle common concerns.

Congress under the Articles possessed limited but important powers: declaring war and making peace, conducting foreign relations, settling disputes between states, borrowing money, and managing relations with Native Americans. Crucially, it lacked power to tax directly or regulate commerce—authority that remained with the states. Major decisions required approval from nine states, and amendments required unanimous consent, making structural change extremely difficult.

Ratification Struggles and State Sovereignty

The ratification process for the Articles revealed early tensions between national authority and state interests. Most states ratified relatively quickly, but Maryland’s refusal to approve the document delayed implementation until March 1, 1781. The central issue concerned western lands: states with extensive western claims who insisted that western territories should become national domain.

This controversy highlighted fundamental questions about the nature of the union. Were the states truly sovereign entities that had voluntarily created a central government? Or had the people of the United States as a whole created both state and national governments? The resolution—with states ceding their western claims to the national government—established the principle that the national government held authority over territories, a crucial precedent for later expansion.

During the ratification period, the Continental Congress continued to function as the de facto national government, prosecuting the war effort despite its lack of formal constitutional authority. This period demonstrated both the necessity of national coordination and the difficulties of governing without clearly defined powers.

Structure and Operation of the Confederation Government

The government established by the Articles consisted of a unicameral Congress in which each state had one vote, regardless of population or wealth. There was no separate executive branch—Congress conducted administration through committees and appointed officials. The position of “President of the United States in Congress Assembled” was largely ceremonial, rotating annually among congressional delegates.

This structure created significant governance challenges. Without independent executive authority, enforcement of congressional decisions depended entirely on state cooperation. The requirement of supermajorities for important measures often led to paralysis, particularly on financial matters. The national government’s inability to tax forced reliance on requisitions from states, which frequently went unpaid, leaving the government chronically short of funds.

Despite these weaknesses, the Confederation government achieved significant accomplishments. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a system for admitting new states on equal footing with the original thirteen, creating a process for national expansion that would continue for over a century. The government also negotiated the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War on favorable terms, securing recognition of American independence and generous territorial boundaries.

Mounting Challenges and Calls for Reform

By the mid-1780s, the limitations of the Confederation government became increasingly apparent. Economic difficulties following the Revolutionary War highlighted the government’s inability to regulate commerce or stabilize currency. Trade disputes between states threatened to escalate into commercial warfare, while debtors and creditors clashed over monetary policy.

Shays’ Rebellion in western Massachusetts particularly alarmed political elites, who saw the uprising as evidence that state governments were too responsive to popular demands and that the national government lacked power to maintain order. Though the rebellion was suppressed by state militia, it reinforced concerns about the viability of the republican experiment.

These challenges generated movements for constitutional reform. The Annapolis Convention of 1786, originally called to address commercial issues, ended with a recommendation for a broader convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. This led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which would ultimately replace rather than revise the existing framework of government.

The Constitutional Convention: Forging a More Perfect Union

The convention that gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787 faced the fundamental challenge of creating a stronger national government while preserving republican principles and state autonomy. The delegates quickly moved beyond their mandate to revise the Articles, recognizing that a completely new constitutional framework was necessary.

The convention debates revealed deep divisions between large and small states, between northern and southern interests, and between those favoring strong national authority and those concerned with preserving state sovereignty. The resulting Constitution represented a series of compromises: the Connecticut Compromise created a bicameral legislature with representation by population in the House and equal state representation in the Senate; the Three-Fifths Compromise addressed representation and taxation regarding enslaved persons; and various provisions balanced national and state authority.

The new Constitution created a substantially stronger national government with power to tax, regulate commerce, raise armies, and enforce laws directly on individuals rather than through the states. It established separate executive and judicial branches to complement the legislative, creating a system of checks and balances that would prevent concentration of power in any single institution.

Ratification Debates and the Federalist-Anti-Federalist Divide

The ratification process unleashed passionate debates about the proper structure of government and the meaning of the American Revolution. Supporters of the Constitution, known as Federalists, argued that the new framework would provide the energy and stability necessary for national prosperity while preserving liberty through its system of checks and balances. Their opponents, the Anti-Federalists, feared that the proposed government would consolidate power at the expense of the states and ultimately threaten individual rights.

These debates produced one of the most brilliant explications of political theory in American history: The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym “Publius.” These essays explained the principles behind the Constitution’s design and addressed concerns about centralized power. In response to Anti-Federalist criticisms, Federalists eventually agreed to support amendments protecting individual rights, leading to the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791.

The ratification struggle occurred state by state, with each convention conducting its own debates. The process revealed continuing regional differences and concerns about the proper balance between national and state authority. The eventual adoption of the Constitution by all thirteen states established the framework for American government that endures to this day, though debates about federalism and state sovereignty would continue throughout American history.

Legacy of the Confederation Period

The period from 1774 to 1789 represents one of the most creative and consequential eras in American political development. The transition from united colonies to confederation to constitutional republic established patterns of federalism and constitutional government that would influence political development worldwide.

The Confederation period demonstrated both the possibilities and limitations of decentralized government. The Articles established the principle that American states would cooperate in a permanent union rather than operating as completely independent nations. At the same time, the difficulties experienced under the Articles showed that effective national government required sufficient authority to address common problems.

The constitutional settlement that emerged from this period created a novel system of divided sovereignty that has allowed the United States to accommodate remarkable diversity while maintaining national unity. The federal structure established in the Constitution has enabled the expansion from thirteen states to fifty while preserving both state autonomy and national identity.

The question of whether America became the “city upon a hill” that Puritan leader John Winthrop had envisioned more than a century earlier remains contested. What is certain is that the political institutions created during this formative period established a framework for American democracy that, despite its flaws and contradictions, has endured for more than two centuries while adapting to changing circumstances. The debates about the proper balance between liberty and authority, state and national power, and popular sovereignty and institutional stability that began in the Confederation period continue to shape American politics today.