While the
First Continental Congress had been held in a spirit of accommodation within the English political system, battles had been fought and blood shed by the time the second Congress met in
Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. New delegates included
Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, and
John Hancock. This Congress organized an independent government to unite the colonies in the war effort. The army was organized and
George Washington was named Commander in Chief.
Having received no results from its appeals to King George III, the Congress decided to break completely with the Mother Country. On July 4, 1776, it adopted the Declaration of Independence. It continued to operate until March 1, 1781, when a new Congress authorized by the Articles of Confederation took over.
