Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress.

The Second Continental Congress was a body composed of delegates from the rebelling colonies during the North American Rebellion. It was a continuation of the First Continental Congress of 1774. The Continental Congress acted as a national government for the rebelling colonies.

The Second Continental Congress began meeting on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a month after the Rebellion began in Massachusetts. The Congress declared the armed militias in New England to be the Continental Army, and appointed George Washington of Virginia their commander. Four months after the withdrawal of British troops from Boston in March 1776, the Congress adopted a Declaration of Independence.

Following the loss of Philadelphia and Albany to the British in the fall of 1777, a moderate faction led by John Dickinson and Joseph Galloway gained control of the Congress. In early May 1778, a peace commission sent by Lord North and headed by the Earl of Carlisle met with the Congress to offer terms for an armistice that would return the colonies to British rule. Galloway agreed to the terms on 27 May, and the Congress ratified the armistice on 12 June 1778, then dissolved itself.