Editing Benjamin Harrison V (section)

==Second Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence==
[[File:Independence Hall Clocktower in Philadelphia.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.90|Independence Hall hosted the Second Continental Congress.]]

When the [[Second Continental Congress]] convened in May 1775, Harrison took up residence in north Philadelphia with two roommates—his brother-in-law [[Peyton Randolph]] and [[George Washington]].{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=188}} The two men left him to reside alone when Randolph suddenly died, and Washington assumed command of the Continental Army.{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=190}} Harrison was kept busy with the issues of funding and supplying Washington's army and corresponded with him at length.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0088|title=To Geo. Washington from Benj. Harrison, July 22–24, 1775|access-date=February 19, 2020|publisher=National Archives}}</ref>

In the spring of 1775, an effort was made in Congress to seek reconciliation with the King of Britain through the [[Olive Branch Petition]], authored by [[John Dickinson]]. A heated debate ensued with Dickinson's remark that he disapproved of only one word in the petition: "Congress." Harrison angrily rose from his seat and replied, "There is but one word in the paper, Mr. President, of which I do approve, and that is the word 'Congress.'" The petition passed and was submitted to the Crown but remained unread by the king as he formally declared that the colonists were traitors.{{sfn|Smith|1978|p=32}}

In November 1775, Harrison was appointed to a select committee to review the army's needs. He went to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] with Washington, [[Benjamin Franklin]], and [[Thomas Lynch (statesman)|Thomas Lynch]] to assess the needs, as well as the morale, of the forces. After a 10-day inspection, the committee concluded that the pay for the troops should be improved and that the ranks should be increased to over 20,000 men.{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=33–34}} Harrison then returned to Philadelphia to work closely with fellow delegates for the defense of his state as well as South Carolina, Georgia, and New York.{{sfn|Smith|1978|p=35}}
[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'' by [[John Trumbull]], Harrison is seated at the table far left.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfI1AAAAMAAJ&q=Key+Trumbull+paintings|title = Paintings by John Trumbull at Yale University of Historic Scenes and Personages Prominent in the American Revolution|year = 1926|publisher = Associates in Fine Arts at Yale University}}</ref>]] 
Harrison attended until the session's end in July 1776, frequently serving as chair of the Committee of the Whole.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00522)):|title=Continental Congress: Monday, July 1–Thursday, July 4, 1776|journal=Journals of the Continental Congress,1774–1789|volume=5|pages=504–16|publisher=Library of Congress|year=1904–1937|access-date=October 1, 2020}}</ref> As such, he presided over the final debates of the [[Lee Resolution]] offered by Virginia delegate [[Richard Henry Lee]]. This was the Congress' first expression of its objective of freedom from the Crown. Harrison oversaw the final debates and amendments of the Declaration of Independence.{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=37–39}} The [[Committee of Five]] presented Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration on June 28, 1776, and the Congress resolved on July 1 that the Committee of the Whole should debate its content.{{sfn|Smith|1978|p=37}} The Committee amended it on July 2 and 3, then adopted it in final form on Thursday, July 4. Harrison duly reported this to Congress and gave a final reading of the Declaration.{{sfn|Smith|1978|p=38}} The Congress unanimously resolved to have the Declaration engrossed and signed by those present.{{sfn|Smith|1978|p=39}}

Harrison was known for his audacious sense of humor. Even detractor John Adams conceded in his diary that "Harrison's contributions and many pleasantries steadied rough sessions."{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=26–27}} Pennsylvania delegate [[Benjamin Rush]] in particular recalled the Congress' atmosphere during a signing of the Declaration on August 2, 1776. He described a scene of "pensive and awful silence". He said that Harrison singularly interrupted "the silence and gloom of the morning" as delegates filed forward to inscribe what they thought was their ensuing death warrant. Rush said that the rotund Harrison approached the diminutive [[Elbridge Gerry]], who was about to sign the Declaration, and said, "I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes and be with the Angels, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/resources-declaration-quotes.htm|title=Benjamin Rush to John Adams, July 20, 1811|publisher=NPS|access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref>