Second Continental Congress Summary

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When the Second Continental Congress first convened in 1775, they began to address the grievances the First Congress had submitted to King George and to which there had been no reply. They established the Continental Army and the national currency, passed acts to allow colonial ships to outfit themselves for war, opened ports to foreign trade and established local governments. By 1776 it was apparent to nearly all of the representatives that independence from England was inevitable. The 1876 Currier & Ives painting of the Committee of Five, commissioned to celebrate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, portrays the members of the original group of delegates selected by the Second Continental Congress at work drafting the document …show more content…
Jefferson, Adams and Franklin all spent time in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment and their views were much swayed by the works of John Locke and others of that era. Robert Livingston, the delegate for New York, was a true patriot but was recalled by the state before he could sign the Declaration due to a disagreement with the scope and timing of the Declaration. He went on to serve the new nation admirably by swearing in the first president, George Washington, and later by negotiating the Louisiana Purchase while the resident minister in Napoleon’s court . The Connecticut delegate, Roger Sherman, had more desired to take on the roll of soldier, but accepted the responsibilities asked of him by his constituents to represent them in the Congress. He bowed to the much more diplomatic trio of Jefferson, Franklin and Adams to produce the actual document …show more content…
2009. “Benjamin Franklin Declaration of Independence.” Humanities 360.com http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/benjamin-franklin-declaration-of-independence-42120/ Dougherty, Keith L. and Jac C. Heckelman. "A Pivotal Voter from a Pivotal State: Roger Sherman at the Constitutional Convention." The American Political Science Review 100, no. 2 (05, 2006): 297-302. http://search.proquest.com/docview/214442876?accountid=8289.

Grasso, C. (2008). Deist monster: On religious common sense in the wake of the american revolution. The Journal of American History, 95(1), 43-68,14. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224908302?accountid=8289

Henretta, James A. America: A Concise History, Volume One: To 1877. 5th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2012. VitalBook file. Bookshelf.

Peron, Jim. "The Declaration of Independence: It 's Greek to Me." Ideas on Liberty 50, no. 8 (08, 2000): 16-18. http://search.proquest.com/docview/196603403?accountid=8289.

“Robert Livingston.” 2014. USHistory.Org http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/livingston_r.htm

URL http://www.usflag.org/images/committ.jpg

“Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776” 2009. Eyewitness to History,

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