Editing Continental Congress (section)

==Timeline==
; 1774
* September 5: [[First Continental Congress]] convenes at [[Philadelphia]]'s [[Carpenter's Hall]]
* October 14: [[Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress]] is adopted
* October 18: [[Continental Association]] is adopted
* October 25: First [[Petition to the King]] is signed
* October 26: Congress adjourns, resolving to reconvene the following May if grievances were not redressed

; 1775
* April 19: [[American Revolutionary War|War]] begins at the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]]
* May 10: [[Second Continental Congress]] convenes at Philadelphia's [[Independence Hall|State House]]
* June 14: Congress establishes the [[Continental Army]]
* June 15: Congress appoints one of its members, [[George Washington]], as commander of the Continental Army
* July 1: [[King George III]] addresses [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]], stating they will "put a speedy end" to the rebellion
* July 6: [[Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms]] is approved
* July 8: Second petition to the king (the [[Olive Branch Petition]]) is signed and sent to [[London]]
* August 23: In his [[Proclamation of Rebellion]] (officially titled "A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition"), King George III declares elements of the American colonies in "open and avowed rebellion" and orders officials of the British Empire "to use their utmost endeavours to withstand and suppress such rebellion" 
* October 13: Congress establishes the [[Continental Navy]]
* November 10: Congress establishes the [[Continental Marines]]

; 1776
* January 10: [[Thomas Paine]] publishes ''[[Common Sense (pamphlet)|Common Sense]]''
* June 7: [[Richard Henry Lee]] of [[Virginia]] presents a three-part resolution to Congress, calling on Congress to declare independence, form foreign alliances, and prepare a plan of colonial confederation
* June 10: Congress votes on June 10 to postpone further discussion of Lee's resolution for three weeks to allow time for the delegates to confer with their state assemblies
* June 11: Congress appoints a "[[Committee of Five]]", [[Thomas Jefferson]] of Virginia, [[John Adams]] of [[Massachusetts]], [[Benjamin Franklin]] of [[Pennsylvania]], [[Roger Sherman]] of [[Connecticut]] and [[Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)|Robert R. Livingston]] of [[New York (state)|New York]], to draft a declaration justifying independence.
* June 12: Congress appoints a Committee of Thirteen to draft of a constitution for a union of the states
* July 2: [[Lee Resolution]] (also known as "The Resolution for Independence"), asserting the independence of the 13 colonies from Great Britain, is adopted
* July 4: Final text of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] is adopted
* July 12: John Dickinson presents the Committee of Thirteen's draft constitution to Congress
* August 2: Delegates sign an [[engrossed]] copy of the Declaration of Independence
* December 12: Congress adjourns to move to [[Baltimore, Maryland]]
* December 20: Congress convenes in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] at the [[Henry Fite House]]

; 1777
* February 27: Congress adjourns to return to [[Philadelphia]]
* March 4: Congress reconvenes at Philadelphia's State House
* June 14: [[Flag Acts (United States)|Flag Resolution]], defining the design of the [[Flag of the United States|flag of the United States of America]], is adopted
* September 18: Congress adjourns in order to move to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]
* September 27: Congress convenes for one day in Lancaster, at the Court House
* September 30: Congress reconvenes at [[York, Pennsylvania]] at the Court House
* November 15: Final text of the [[Articles of Confederation]] is approved and sent to the states for ratification

; 1778
* June 27: Congress adjourns to return to Philadelphia
* July 2: Congress reconvenes in Philadelphia, first at College Hall, then at the State House

; 1780
* January 15: Congress establishes the [[Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture]]

; 1781
* March 1: Having been ratified by all 13 states, the Articles of Confederation becomes effective; Continental Congress becomes the Congress of the Confederation
* May 26: Proposed plan from [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]] to establish [[Bank of North America]] approved by Congress
* October 17: Surrender of [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Cornwallis]] at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]], Virginia
* December 31: [[Bank of North America]] chartered by Congress

; 1783
* June 21: The [[Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783]] forces congress to flee Philadelphia.
* June 30: Congress reconvenes in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], first at a house named "Prospect", then [[Nassau Hall]]
* November 4: Congress adjourns to move to [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
* November 26: Congress reconvenes at Annapolis, in the [[Maryland State House|State House]]
* December 23: [[George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief|George Washington resigns from the Army]]

; 1784
* January 14: The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] is ratified
* May 7: Thomas Jefferson is appointed as a minister to [[Kingdom of France|France]]
* August 19: Congress adjourns to move to [[Trenton, New Jersey]]
* November 1: Congress reconvenes at Trenton, at the [[French Arms Tavern]]
* December 24: Congress adjourns to move to [[New York City]]

;1785
* January 11: Congress reconvenes in New York City, first at [[Federal Hall#Historic building|City Hall]], then at [[Fraunces Tavern]]
* March 25–28: [[Mount Vernon Conference|Maryland–Virginia Conference]] held at [[Mount Vernon]]
* March 28: Mount Vernon Compact is signed between Maryland and Virginia covering the use of the [[Potomac River]]

; 1786
* August 29: [[Shays' Rebellion]] begins
* September 11–14: [[Annapolis Convention (1786)|1786 Annapolis Convention]] held; delegates issues a report calling for another meeting in the spring with delegates from all states

; 1787
* February 21: Congress calls a constitutional convention "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress and the several legislatures such alterations and provisions therein and when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the States render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union"
* May 25: [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] convenes in Philadelphia; every state except for Rhode Island sends delegates
* July 13: Congress passes the [[Northwest Ordinance]]
* September 17: Constitutional Convention adjourns after completing work on the [[United States Constitution]]
* September 28: Congress votes to transmit the proposed Constitution to the 13 states for ratification

; 1788
* July 2: Congress President [[Cyrus Griffin]] informs Congress that [[New Hampshire]] has ratified the Constitution and notes that it is the ninth ratification, thereby allowing for the establishment of the new government<ref name=Maier376377ratification>{{cite book| last=Maier|first=Pauline | author-link=Pauline Maier| title=Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788|date=2010|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York| isbn=978-0-684-86854-7| pages=376–377}}</ref>
* July 8: A committee is formed to examine all ratifications received and to develop a plan for putting the new Constitution into operation.<ref name=Maier376377ratification/>
* September 13: Congress certifies that the new constitution has been duly ratified and sets date for first meeting of the [[Federal government of the United States|new federal government]] and the [[United States presidential election|presidential election]]<ref>{{cite book| last=Maier|first=Pauline | author-link=Pauline Maier| title=Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788|date=2010|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York| isbn=978-0-684-86854-7| page=429}}</ref>
* October 10: The last session during which the Continental Congress succeeded in achieving a quorum; and passes its last ordinance<ref>Taylor, Hannis. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WnxDAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22March+2%2C+1789%22+and+%22Philip+Pell%22&pg=PA268 The Origin and Growth of the American Constitution]'', p. 268 (1911).</ref>
* November 15: Cyrus Griffin, the 10th president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, resigns

; 1789
* March 2: Last meeting of the Continental Congress, held at Fraunces Tavern, is [[Adjournment sine die|adjourned ''sine die'']]; [[Philip Pell]] is the only member in attendance
* March 4: First session of the [[1st United States Congress]] begins at [[Federal Hall]]
* April 30: [[George Washington]] inaugurated as first [[President of the United States]]
* July 23: [[Charles Thomson]] transmits to President Washington his resignation of the office of Secretary of Congress
* July 25: In accordance with President Washington's directions, "the books, records, and papers of the late Congress, the [[Great Seal of the United States|Great Seal of the Federal Union]], and the Seal of the Admiralty" are delivered over to [[Roger Alden]], deputy secretary of the new Congress, who had been designated by President Washington as custodian for the time being<ref>Burnett, ''Continental Congress'', 726.</ref>