The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774.
Delegates from twelve of the thirteen British colonies gathered at Carpenters' Hall from September 5 through October 26. Georgia did not send delegates, although it later joined the revolutionary movement. The meeting responded to the Coercive Acts imposed on Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party.
The delegates included George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Jay. Congress adopted the Continental Association, which called for a boycott of British goods, and issued a petition to King George III seeking redress of colonial grievances.
The congress did not declare independence or create a national government. It was an intercolonial coordinating body whose decisions depended on local enforcement. After fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the Second Continental Congress convened and took on wartime responsibilities, including creating the Continental Army.