On September 5, 1774, delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies met in Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. They gathered in response to the Coercive or Intolerable Acts, which many colonists viewed as a violation of their rights. The Congress debated economic and political measures to pressure Britain, eventually endorsing a boycott of British goods and drafting a petition to King George III. Although independence was not yet the stated goal, the meeting fostered a sense of shared American identity. The Congress laid important groundwork for the Second Continental Congress and the eventual move toward independence.
