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The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts.The King's rejection of the Petition, was one of the causes of the later United States Declaration of Independence and American Revolutionary War.
The Declaration concluded with an outline of Congress's plans: to enter into a boycott of British trade (the Continental Association) until their grievances were redressed, to publish addresses to the people of Great Britain and British America, and to send a petition to the King.
They also drew up a Petition to the King pleading for redress of their grievances and repeal of the Intolerable Acts. That appeal was unsuccessful, leading delegates from the colonies to convene the Second Continental Congress , also held in Philadelphia. the following May, shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord , to organize the ...
The Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, and most delegates followed John Dickinson in his quest to reconcile with King George. However, a rather small group of delegates led by John Adams believed that war was inevitable, and they decided that the wisest course of action was to remain quiet and wait for the opportune time to rally the people.
As a member of the First Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, Dickinson drafted most of the 1774 Petition to the King, and then, as a member of the Second Continental Congress, he wrote the 1775 Olive Branch Petition. Both of these attempts to negotiate with King George III of Great Britain failed.
In London, Parliament debated the merits of meeting the demands made by the colonies; however, it took no official notice of Congress's petitions and addresses. On November 30, 1774, King George III opened Parliament with a speech condemning Massachusetts and the Suffolk Resolves, prompting the Continental Congress to convene again. [5]
George Washington and Charles Broadwater were elected as Fairfax County's representatives to the convention. On July 5, 1774, Washington and others from Fairfax County met in Alexandria, Virginia, to appoint a committee to draft a statement that would, as Washington described it, "define our Constitutional Rights."
On May 2, 1774, Malcolm moved to England where he hoped to secure compensation from the suffering he had endured in Boston. [2] [7] Even though he submitted a petition for King George III, the king was already aware of his "famous case". [2]