Editing Continental Congress (section)

==Organization==
Both the [[Parliament of Great Britain|British Parliament]] and many of their own [[Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies|colonial assemblies]] had powerful [[Speaker (politics)|speakers of the house]] and standing committees with strong chairmen, with [[Executive (government)|executive power]] held by the British Monarch or the colonial Governor. However, the organization of the Continental Congress was based less on the British Parliament or on local colonial assemblies than on the 1765 Stamp Act Congress. Nine delegates to that congress were in attendance at the First Congress in 1774, and their perspective on [[Polity|governance]] influenced the direction of both the Continental Congresses and the later Confederation Congress. Congress took on powers normally held by the British [[King-in-Council]], such as foreign and military affairs. However, the right to tax and regulate trade was reserved for the states, not Congress. Congress had no formal way to enforce its ordinances on the state governments. Delegates were responsible to and reported directly to their home state assemblies; an organizational structure that Neil Olsen has described as "an extreme form of [[matrix management]]".<ref>{{Harvnb|Olsen|2013}}, p. 71</ref>

Delegates chose a presiding [[President of the Continental Congress|president]] to monitor the debate, maintain order, and make sure journals were kept and documents and letters were published and delivered. After the colonies declared their independence in 1776 and united as a quasi-[[federation]] to fight for their freedom, the president functioned as [[head of state]] (not of the country, but of its central government). Otherwise, the office was "more honorable than powerful".<ref>{{Harvnb|Jillson|Wilson|1994}}, p. 76</ref> Congress also elected a secretary, scribe, doorman, messenger, and Chaplain.

The rules of Congress guaranteed the right to debate and open access to the floor for each delegate. Additionally, to ensure that each state would be on an [[equal footing]] with the others, voting on ordinances was done ''en bloc'', with each state having a single vote. Prior to casting its ''[[wikt:yay|yay]]'' or ''[[wikt:nay|nay]]'' vote, preliminary votes were taken within each state delegation. The majority vote determined here was considered the vote of the state on the motion; in cases of a tie the vote for the state was marked as divided, and was not counted.

Turnover of delegates was high, with an average year-to-year turnover rate of 37% by one calculation,<ref name=2013Olsen114>{{Harvnb|Olsen|2013}}, p. 114</ref> and 39% by session-to-session.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jillson|Wilson|1994}}, p. 156</ref> Of the 343 serving delegates, only 55% (187 delegates) spent 12 or more months in attendance.<ref name=2013Olsen114/> Only 25 of the delegates served longer than 35 months.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jillson|Wilson|1994}}, p. 157</ref> This high rate of turnover was not just a characteristic, it was due to a deliberate policy of [[Term limits in the United States|term limits]]. In the Confederation phase of the Congress, "no delegate was permitted to serve more than three years in any six".<ref>{{Harvnb|Jillson|Wilson|1994}}, p. 3</ref> Attendance was variable: while in session, between 54 and 22 delegates were in attendance at any one time, with an average of only 35.5 members attending between 1774 and 1788.<ref>{{Harvnb|Olsen|2013}}, p. 112</ref>