Who Really Wrote The Constitution?

The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies that served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States, from 1774 to 1789. During this period, the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which became the first U.S. constitution in 1781. However, the Articles of Confederation proved inadequate in addressing the challenges facing the young nation in the years immediately following the Revolutionary War, leading to a movement for constitutional reform. This culminated in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, where a new U.S. Constitution was drafted, with the bulk of the document credited to a single Founding Father.

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The First Continental Congress

The delegates of the First Continental Congress included Patrick Henry, George Washington, John and Samuel Adams, John Jay, and John Dickinson. The body rejected a plan to reconcile British authority with colonial freedom, instead adopting a declaration of personal rights, including life, liberty, property, assembly, and trial by jury. They also denounced taxation without representation and the maintenance of British troops in the colonies without their consent.

The Second Continental Congress

In addition to its role in declaring independence, the Second Continental Congress also worked to foster unity among the states and govern the war effort. It created various standing committees to handle war-related activities, such as the committee of secret correspondence, the treasury board, the board of war and ordnance, and the navy board. The Congress also established a postal service and issued and borrowed money.

In November 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, which came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all Thirteen Colonies. The Articles of Confederation served as the first national constitution under which the country would be governed until 1789, when it was replaced by the U.S. Constitution. The Second Continental Congress convened in eight sessions before adjourning in 1789, when the 1st United States Congress under the new Constitution took over.

The Articles of Confederation

The First Continental Congress, comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in 1774 in response to the Intolerable Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government after the colonies resisted new taxes. The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775 after the Revolutionary War had begun. In 1776, it declared America's independence from Britain.

A movement for constitutional reform developed, culminating in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, where delegates decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and create a new system of government. The US Constitution was a group effort, but most of the document can be credited to one Founding Father – Gouverneur Morris, later known as the "penman of the Constitution".

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The US Constitution

The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies with some executive functions for the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain in North America and the newly declared United States before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The term specifically refers to the First and Second Continental Congresses of 1774–1781. The First Continental Congress, comprised of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies, met in 1774 in response to the Intolerable Acts, a series of punitive measures imposed by the British government after the Boston Tea Party. During this congress, the delegates discussed how to respond to the coercive actions of the British government and worked to foster unity among the colonies. They also adopted a declaration of personal rights, including life, liberty, property, assembly, and trial by jury, and denounced taxation without representation.

The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775 after the Revolutionary War had begun. In 1776, it took the significant step of declaring America's independence from Britain, with the colonies becoming independent sovereign states. This congress served as the provisional government of the US during most of the Revolutionary War. In 1781, the Articles of Confederation, which had been prepared by the First Continental Congress, came into force, and the Second Continental Congress became the Congress of the Confederation.

However, the Articles of Confederation proved inadequate in addressing the challenges facing the young American nation after the Revolutionary War, including financial difficulties, interstate rivalries, and domestic insurrection. As a result, a movement for constitutional reform gained momentum, leading to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, also known as the Constitutional Convention. This convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it ultimately abandoned those articles and drafted a new constitution with a stronger national government. The delegates at the convention, which included some of the country's greatest minds, decided to create a new system of government.

The final version of the US Constitution was prepared by a committee led by Gouverneur Morris, known as the "penman of the Constitution." The constitution was then sent to the states for acceptance or rejection. In 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the constitution, making it the law of the land. The Continental Congress appointed a committee to schedule the first federal elections and set the date for the new federal government to begin operations. This was the last major act of the Continental Congress, which adjourned in 1789 when the 1st United States Congress under the new Constitution took over.

The Founding Fathers

The Second Continental Congress, also held in Philadelphia, took place the following year, shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, to organise the defence of the colonies as the American Revolutionary War. The Second Congress included members such as Roger Sherman, who denied the legislative authority of Parliament, and Patrick Henry, who believed that a new system of government, independent from Great Britain, was needed. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress took the momentous step of declaring America's independence from Britain.

The Continental Congresses served as the government of the 13 American colonies, and later the United States, from 1774 to 1789. The Congresses created various standing committees to handle war-related activities, such as the committee of secret correspondence, the board of war, and the navy board. One such small group was tasked with developing a constitution to perpetuate the new Union. The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781, becoming the first national constitution under which the country would be governed.

However, the Articles of Confederation proved inadequate in addressing the young nation's post-war financial straits, interstate rivalries, and domestic insurrection. A movement for constitutional reform developed, leading to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The delegates at the convention decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and create a new system of government. The bulk of the new U.S. Constitution can be credited to one Founding Father, Gouverneur Morris, who is known as the "penman of the Constitution". The new Constitution was ratified in 1789, and the Continental Congress adjourned forever.

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