Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall is where the seeds for American independence were sown
It was the venue for the First Continental Congress, where colonists wanted to work out their issues with England. But before they could come to a compromise, war broke out.
Up until the 1750s, America was a community of loosely organized colonies where residents were content — if not happy — to be a part of the powerful British Empire.
But after the colonists joined Britain to help the Crown win the French and Indian War, they started to wonder if it was worth it to remain the King’s subjects.
For one, King George III issued the Royal Proclamation in 1763 forbidding Americans west of the Appalachian Mountains, angering the land-hungry colonists.
Then came the beginnings of taxation without representation. In 1765, England enacted the Stamp Act; levying a tax on every piece of paper, pamphlet, or card bought and sold in America. Eventually, the colonists rebelled and Britain repealed the act five months after it started.
However, the seeds of rebellion were planted.
Uncomfortable with angry subjects, Britain stationed troops in New England. Those rising tensions led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. In 1773, King George III taxed tea imported to the colonies from London. (He was insistent on collecting the colonists’ money by any means necessary.) When the tea arrived from London in the Boston Harbor in December of 1773, colonists dumped it into the Atlantic Ocean. In retaliation to the infamous Boston Tea Party, the Crown levied a series of Intolerable Acts.
“In the eyes of the colonists, the Intolerable Acts were severe,” explained Michael Norris, the executive director of Carpenters’ Hall.
The acts, Norris explained disbanded the Massachusetts legislature, putting Britain in charge of the state’s government. Britain closed the Port of Boston and stationed British troops in Masachussetts, requiring residents to feed, clothe, and house them.
The colonists thought, “if Britain could do this in Masachussetts, what would that mean to the rest of thecolonies?”
On Sept. 5, 1774, 56 delegates from 12 colonies — Georgia didn’t come — convened at the then brand new Carpenters’ Hall for the First Continental Congress. Their goal: to work out a deal between the colonies and their Mother Country so life in the New World could continue albeit a bit smoother.
That first meeting of the Continental Congress will be remembered Saturday at Carpenters’ Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the Philadelphia Historic District’s weekly Firstival celebration. Each Saturday this year the district is throwing a day party honoring events that happened in Philadelphia that changed the world.
For eight weeks, through Oct. 25, delegates hashed out a plan for independence and heal their disagreement with the Crown.
They drafted a Declaration of Rights & Grievances in which they demanded England send its troops home and stated they wouldn’t stand for taxation without representation. (Historians refer to this declaration as a prelude to the Declaration of Independence.) Delegates also adopted the Articles of Association, in which they voted to stop all trade with England until the Intolerable Acts were repealed.
“They were trying to use their economic muscle to get England to the table,” Norris said.
» READ MORE: The Constitution turns 239 this month. It was signed in Philadelphia at Independence Hall.
The First Continental Congress created a unity among the colonies that hadn’t existed before, Norris said. “Up until then, they thought of themselves as British subjects, more connected to the Mother Country than their neighbors. The Congress changed this dynamic.”
This sentiment is best illustrated in Patrick Henry’s famous quote, during the opening sessions of that first Congress: “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more,” Henry said. “I m not a Virginian, but an American.”
It is why the late historian David McCullough referred to Carpenters’ Hall as the “acorn of American democracy.” It is where, Norris said, “the seed of independence was built that ultimately grew into the United States of America.”
Delegates planned to reconvene in May of 1775 to address England’s response to their demands. But in April, the first shots of the Revolutionary War was fired and the Continental Army — victorious in the Battles of Lexington and Concord — were in a full-fledged war.
Making nice with England was completely off the table.
This week’s Firstival is Saturday, Sept. 12, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Each week, The Inquirer is highlighting a “first” from the Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts. A “52 Weeks of Firsts” podcast, produced by All That’s Good Productions, drops every Tuesday.
