The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia before the independence events celebrated by America250. Delegates gathered there from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in response to Britain’s Intolerable Acts.
Twelve of the Thirteen Colonies sent delegates; Georgia did not attend. The assembly sought a coordinated response to British policies without initially demanding independence. Its work included a declaration of colonial rights and the Continental Association, which organized a boycott of British imports and exports.
The First Congress helped establish the habit of intercolonial cooperation. It also agreed to reconvene, leading to the Second Continental Congress in 1775. That later body met primarily in the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, and ultimately adopted the Declaration of Independence.
Carpenters’ Hall is therefore an important but separate founding site. Confusing it with Independence Hall mixes the 1774 First Continental Congress with the 1776 congressional action that America250 commemorates.