| either of two legislative congresses during and after the Revolutionary War. The first was in session from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to petition the British government for a redress of grievances. The second existed from May 10, 1775, to 1789, and issued the Declaration of Independence and established the Articles of Confederation. |
An assembly of delegates from the thirteen colonies (soon to become the thirteen states). It governed during the Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress first met in 1774, before the revolution. When it reconvened in 1775, it organized for war against Britain and eventually passed the Declaration of Independence.