250 and Counting

Tag: Second Continental Congress

  • June 3, 1775: Committees Everywhere

    Cover art for June 3, 1775: Portrait of Silas Deane by William Johnston, 1766

    Silas Deane was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Connecticut, and by most accounts he did a decent job of it, although he did lose his position after a dispute with Roger Sherman. He stuck around Congress anyway, helping however he could.

    The following year he went to France as a secret delegate to drum up support for the Colonies. Unfortunately when he returned he was accused of financial impropriety; it took some time to clear his name and when the dust settled, he was nearly broke.

    The following year he returned to France and, while there, letters he’d written suggesting that the Colonies would not win the war were released to the press by British spies, and he again faced accusations, this time of treason.

    Eventually Deane moved to Ghent and in 1789 he made plans to return to the newly-minted United States of America so he could clear his name. But he fell ill and died shortly after boarding a ship to take him back home. He was 51 years old.

    P.S. you only think this has nothing to do with today’s episode.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • June 2, 1775: Joseph Warren Has A Good Idea

    Cover Art for June 2, 1775: Joseph Warren portrait by John Singleton Copley, 1765

    Joseph Warren is definitely one of the unsung heroes of the American Revolution. We last heard from him on March 5, when he did his You Are There routine describing the events of the Boston Massacre at a memorial event (in fact, we used the same cover art).

    Today he’s more of the guy with the common sense solution: “Hey, instead of having a whole bunch of little militias fighting this thing…what if we put ’em all together into one big army?”

    And the Continental Congress, moving with its usual speed…took no action for about two weeks. It’s possible that there were still delegates not feeling the urgency just yet, though.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • May 31, 1775: The Second Letter to Canada

    Cover art for May 31, 1775: Portrait of John Jay by Gilbert Stuart, 1794.

    With all the talk of our good relationships with Canada possibly going awry in the light of tariffs being levied [or not] against that country, it’s interesting to recognize that there was, in fact, a genuine relationship established before the Colonies broke away from England.

    It started in 1774, and continues on this day in 1775, and there’s one more attempt in the works. But for the time being let’s live for today.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • May 13, 1775: Lyman Hall Joins the Continental Congress

    Cover art for May 13, 1775: portrait of Lyman Hall, created ca. 1871

    Dr. Lyman Hall gets a little name recognition because he was a strong supporting character in the play/film 1776, but he was more involved in the Revolution than that.

    While Georgia (eventually) sent five delegates to the Continental Congress, Hall was one of the three who regularly attended and signed the Declaration of Independence.

    For instance, he ensured that food and medicine got to Colonial soldiers, and it was he who convinced the Georgia congress to send official delegates to the Second Continental Congress, himself among them.

    He also became the state’s first Governor and spent that single year establishing the state university.

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

  • May 11, 1775: The Second Continental Congress Gets to Business

    Cover art for May 11, 1775: The Second Continental Congress in July 1775. Unknown artist, printed by Currier & Ives in 1876.

    When the Second Continental Congress convened, they spent a little time with the formalities of going over credentials and establishing some ground rules. But right after that, they got right down to business. They knew that they were going to move into a wartime footing immediately. They also knew that they wanted to operate in an “official” capacity, so they took the time to review, on the record, the events leading up to and including the battle at Lexington and Concord.

    They then adjourned until the next day, but tabled discussion of the state of America to the following Monday. (May 11 was a Thursday, so this wasn’t terribly out of line.)

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed