The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia in 1774, an important event in America250’s revolutionary story.
Delegates gathered from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to coordinate a response to Britain’s Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many American colonists. The meeting took place before the colonies formally declared independence.
Carpenters’ Hall was the meeting place of the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia. Its relatively private setting suited delegates who were attempting to build agreement while still debating reconciliation with Britain.
The First Continental Congress should not be confused with the Second Continental Congress, which met at the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall. The second body directed the war effort and adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.