The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. The 48 delegates faced an unprecedented and ever-deepening crisis. Bloody battles between colonial militias and British redcoats had just been fought in Lexington and Concord. The shock of American casualties in Massachusetts hung over every debate inside the Pennsylvania State House. Outside the building local militia companies drilled in the streets as their drums echoed off the brick facades on nearby buildings.
The First Continental Congress met to protest British taxes. In contrast, the delegates at the Second Continental Congress were tasked with managing an undeclared war while the colonists were still subjects of King George III. Over the next 13 months the delegates simultaneously prepared for a war they hoped to avoid. Although the events that culminated in the Declaration of Independence now seem inevitable, at the time America’s fate remained inextricably tied to an unpredictable series of actions and reactions.
The Olive Branch Petition
The delegates to the Second Continental Congress felt a profound sense of urgency to respond the ongoing crisis. But what should they do? Radicals such as John Adams and Sam Adams argued that a full-scale war was inevitable. In contrast, moderates led by John Dickinson believed that a peaceful reconciliation was possible. They urged the Congress to pursue every diplomatic avenue before permanently committing to an armed conflict.
Caught between the outbreak of violence in Massachusetts and a widespread desire to reach a diplomatic solution, the delegates finally approved sending King George III an Olive Branch Petition. The petition affirmed the colonies’ loyalty to the Crown while imploring George III to undertake measures to resolve the conflict.
The Olive Branch Petition reached London in August 1775. George III now faced a fateful decision. He could use the petition as a way of opening serious negotiations to resolve the issues dividing Great Britain and her North American colonies. Instead, George III and his ministers viewed the Second Continental Congress as an illegal assembly operating outside the constitutional authority of the British Empire. From the Crown’s perspective, the colonies were already engaged in a full-scale insurrection that made their peace overtures seem disingenuous. Given these beliefs, George III refused to read the Olive Branch Petition and instead issued a formal proclamation declaring the colonies in “open and avowed rebellion.” He ordered all civil and military officers to bring the rebel leaders to justice for treason.
Common Sense
George III’s refusal to read the Olive Branch Petition crushed the hopes of moderates who had viewed the monarch as a “Good King” who was misguided by corrupt advisors. Despite their misgivings, a majority of American colonists still vacillated as they faced a momentous question: Should the colonies return to the British Empire or should they declare their independence?
A compelling answer to this question came from an unlikely source. Thomas Paine immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1774. In January 1776, the previously unknown author published Common Sense. The 47-page pamphlet attacked monarchy as an institution by insisting that kings were forcibly imposed upon people capable of self-government. Paine assailed George III as an oppressive “royal brute” who should be scorned and not venerated. He argued that independence was inevitable since a growing continent could not be permanently tied to a small and distant island. Paine concluded by exhorting the colonists to declare independence and “begin the world over again.”
Congress Declares Independence
Common Sense became an instant bestseller that reached hundreds of thousands of people and was even read aloud in taverns and town squares. People throughout the colonies agreed with Paine’s persuasive arguments why America should pursue its own destiny. The Continental Congress responded to the shift in public sentiment by formally adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Declaration marked a watershed turning point in American history. The colonies now became independent states, and the Second Continental Congress became the central government of a people at war. The Continental Congress would ultimately win the war and negotiate a favorable peace treaty.
So why should you remember the sequence of events leading to the Declaration of Independence?
APUSH exams regularly contain set of multiple-choice questions that focus on the Olive Branch Petition, Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence. You should know that the ideas about government in Common Sense were consistent with Enlightenment ideals about liberty. The Declaration of Independence created a new American identity by transforming a debate over taxes into a fight for independence.