Declaring Independence.

The second continental congress takes action.

In May 1776, a few weeks after Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia as planned. When the group convened, delegates' attitudes toward Britain was mixed, many still felt loyalty toward King George III, blaming his ministers and Parliament for bad policies. All delegates rejected Parliament’s authority to tax the colonies, but only a few actually wanted independence. During the next months they made several crucial decisions.

• Creating a Continental Army.
War had already begun, and New Englanders and British troops were fighting around Boston. The Congress agreed to support the war even though its members did not agree on the final goal. The Congress made the New England forces the core of a Continental Army. Then in June 1775 the Congress chose George Washington to lead the new army.

• War or Peace?
In July the Congress issued two very different documents. The differing positions in these documents reflected the colonists' divided feelings. The first explained why Americans were at war. It accused Parliament of having "an inordinate passion for power." few days later, ths Congress sent King George III what became known as the Olive Branch Petition. Its authors called themselves the king’s "faithful subjects in the Colonies." Despite the petition, the king declared the colonies to be in rebellion. In response, Parliament passed a harsh law banning colonial trade outside the British Empire.

More Violence in Boston.

Even while the Continental Congress was meeting, fighting continued in several parts of the colonies. The British at first treated these encounters as local rebellions. The colonial forces expanded the war. On May 10, 1775, as the Continental Congress was just beginning, the Green Mountain Boys captured the British fort at Ticonderoga in New York. Other members of this militia captured the fort at Crown Point a few days later.