Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774, a prelude to the independence America250 commemorates.
Delegates from 12 of the 13 British North American colonies met at Carpenters' Hall from September 5 to October 26, 1774. Georgia did not send delegates because Loyalist sentiment remained strong there. The gathering responded to Britain's Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists after the Boston Tea Party.
The First Continental Congress did not declare independence. Instead, it coordinated colonial resistance, issued a Declaration and Resolves, and adopted the Continental Association, a boycott of British goods. The delegates also agreed to reconvene if their grievances were not addressed, leading to the Second Continental Congress in 1775.
Philadelphia can be confused with Boston, where the Boston Tea Party occurred, or with the same city's State House—now Independence Hall—where the Second Continental Congress later met. Carpenters' Hall, not Independence Hall, was the First Continental Congress's meeting place.