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66-640: The South Carolina Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "South Carolina Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to South Carolina at various times by the Continental Congress . These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of

132-865: A quorum . When the Articles of Confederation were superseded by the Constitution of the United States , the Confederation Congress was superseded by the United States Congress . The Confederation Congress ultimately established a suitable administrative structure for the Federal government, which placed into operation a federal government comprising three departments (finance, war, and foreign affairs), led by three ministers for each respective department. Robert Morris

198-853: A dozen of them had served as speakers of the houses of their legislatures." The initial idea for the development of the Continental Congress, including the Thirteen Colonies in British America , first arose in 1754 at the start of the French and Indian War , which started as the North American front of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France . Initially known as the Albany Congress ,

264-588: A large squadron of French warships under Comte de Grasse to the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina . These French warships were decisive at the Battle of Yorktown along the coast of Virginia by preventing Lord Cornwallis 's British troops from receiving supplies, reinforcements, or evacuation via the James River and Hampton Roads . Robert Morris, the Minister of Finance, persuaded Congress to charter

330-595: A position in the new government created by the U.S. Constitution . As Secretary of the Continental Congress, Thomson was also the keeper of the Great Seal of the United States, and he retained the Great Seal in his custody during the transition from the Confederation to the new United States Federal Government under the Constitution. As Secretary of Congress, Thomson understood it to be his duty to attend

396-460: 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". 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

462-821: A second congress. The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775, soon after hostilities broke out in Massachusetts . Soon after meeting, the Second Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III , established the Continental Army , and elected George Washington commander of the new army. After the king issued the Proclamation of Rebellion in August 1775 in response to the Battle of Bunker Hill , some members of

528-506: Is a long-running debate on how effective the Congress was as an organization. The first critic may have been General George Washington . In an address to his officers, at Newburgh, New York , on March 15, 1783, responding to complaints that Congress had not funded their pay and pensions, he stated that he believed that Congress would do the army "complete justice" and eventually pay the soldiers. "But, like all other large Bodies, where there

594-552: Is a variety of different Interests to reconcile, their deliberations are slow." In addition to their slowness, the lack of coercive power in the Continental Congress was harshly criticized by James Madison when arguing for the need of a Federal Constitution . His comment in Vices of the Political System of April 1787 set the conventional wisdom on the historical legacy of the institution for centuries to come: A sanction

660-406: Is essential to the idea of law, as coercion is to that of Government. The federal system being destitute of both, wants the great vital principles of a Political Cons[ti]tution. Under the form of such a Constitution, it is in fact nothing more than a treaty of amity of commerce and of alliance, between so many independent and Sovereign States. From what cause could so fatal an omission have happened in

726-610: The American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson, a Founding Father of the United States , prepared the Journals of the Continental Congress , and his and John Hancock 's names were the only two to appear on the first printing of the United States Declaration of Independence . Thomson is also known for co-designing

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792-727: The American Revolution , committees of correspondence began building the foundation for interaction between the thirteen colonial states. In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act requiring that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. The act provoked the ire of merchants in New York City , Boston , and Philadelphia , who responded by placing an embargo on British imports until

858-724: The Bank of North America on December 31, 1781. Although a private bank, the Federal Government acquired partial ownership with money lent by France. The Bank of North America played a major role in financing the war against Great Britain . The combined armies of George Washington and Nathanael Greene , with the help of the French Army and Navy, defeated the British in the Battle of Yorktown during October 1781. Lord Cornwallis

924-1003: The Boston Massacre of 1770. Three years later, the Tea Act , which granted the British East India Company the right to directly ship its tea to North America and the right to the duty-free export of tea from Great Britain, became law, exacerbating the colonists' resentment toward the British government, inciting the December 1773 Boston Tea Party , and inspiring the September 1774 Suffolk Resolves . The First Continental Congress met briefly in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , from September 5 to October 26, 1774. Delegates from twelve of

990-580: The British Parliament and many of their own colonial assemblies had powerful speakers of the house and standing committees with strong chairmen, with 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

1056-735: The Great Seal of the United States and adding its Latin mottoes Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum , and for his translation of the Bible's Old Testament . Thomson was born in Maghera , County Londonderry , Ireland , to Scots-Irish migrants , Mr. and Mrs. John Thomson. After the death of his wife in 1739, John Thomson migrated to the British colonies in North America with his sons (three or four brothers, including Charles). John Thomson died at sea, his possessions stolen, and

1122-722: The Pennsylvania . Peyton Randolph of Virginia was its president. Benjamin Franklin put forward the idea of such a meeting the year before, but he was unable to convince the colonies of its necessity until the Royal Navy instituted a blockade of Boston Harbor and Parliament passed the punitive Intolerable Acts in 1774, in response to the Boston Tea Party . During the congress, delegates organized an economic boycott of Great Britain in protest and petitioned

1188-618: The Second Continental Congress became the Congress of the Confederation , which was officially styled as the "United States in Congress Assembled", a unicameral body composed of delegates from the several states. A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The weak central government established by the Articles received only those powers which

1254-660: The Thirteen Colonies that would ultimately join in the Revolutionary War participated. Only Georgia , where Loyalist feelings still outweighed Patriotic emotion, and which relied upon Great Britain for military supplies to defend settlers against possible Indian attacks, did not, nor did East and West Florida, which at the time were also British colonies . Altogether, 56 delegates attended, including George Washington , Patrick Henry , and John Adams . Other notable delegates included Samuel Adams from Massachusetts Bay and Joseph Galloway and John Dickinson from

1320-634: The U.S. capital from 1785 to 1790. Much of what is known today about the daily activities of these congresses comes from the journals kept by the secretary for all three congresses, Charles Thomson . Printed contemporaneously, the Journals of the Continental Congress contain the official congressional papers , letters, treaties, reports and records. The delegates to the Continental and Confederation congresses had extensive experience in deliberative bodies , with "a cumulative total of nearly 500 years of experience in their Colonial assemblies , and fully

1386-550: The provisional government of the U.S. during most of the Revolutionary War. In March 1781, the nation's first Frame of Government , the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , came into force , and thus the body became what later was called the Congress of the Confederation. This unicameral governing body would convene in eight sessions before adjourning in 1789, when the 1st United States Congress under

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1452-654: The 1758 Treaty of Easton and wrote An Enquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians from the British Interest (1759), which blamed the war on the proprietors. The Delaware Indians adopted him into their tribe calling him, 'The-man-who-speaks-the-truth'. He was allied with Benjamin Franklin , the leader of the anti-proprietary party, but the two men parted politically during

1518-419: The 1980s accepted the conventional interpretation on the weakness of the Congress due to the lack of coercive power. They explored the role of leadership , or rather the lack of it, in the Continental Congress. Going beyond even Madison's harsh critique, they used the "analytical stance of what has come to be called the new institutionalism " to demonstrate that "the norms, rules, and institutional structures of

1584-559: The 343 serving delegates, only 55% (187 delegates) spent 12 or more months in attendance. Only 25 of the delegates served longer than 35 months. This high rate of turnover was not just a characteristic, it was due to a deliberate policy of term limits . In the Confederation phase of the Congress, "no delegate was permitted to serve more than three years in any six". 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. There

1650-612: The American Revolution. After leaving office, he chose to destroy the work in an effort to preserve the myths of War of Independence leaders as heroes and stated his desire to avoid "contradict[ing] all the histories of the great events of the Revolution. Let the world admire the supposed wisdom and valor of our great men. Perhaps they may adopt the qualities that have been ascribed to them, and thus good may be done. I shall not undeceive future generations." According to

1716-530: The Articles of Confederation? From a mistaken confidence that the justice, the good faith, the honor, the sound policy, of the several legislative assemblies would render superfluous any appeal to the ordinary motives by which the laws secure the obedience of individuals: a confidence which does honor to the enthusiastic virtue of the compilers, as much as the inexperience of the crisis apologizes for their errors. Political scientists Calvin Jillson and Rick Wilson in

1782-507: The Confederation Congress: Under the Articles of Confederation, the Confederation Congress had little power to compel the individual states to comply with its decisions. More and more prospective delegates elected to the Confederation Congress declined to serve in it. The leading men in each State preferred to serve in the state governments, and thus the Continental Congress had frequent difficulties in establishing

1848-462: The Congress met in Albany, New York from June 18 to July 11, 1754, and representatives from seven of the thirteen colonies attended. Among the delegates was Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia , who proposed that the colonies join in a confederation . Though the idea of a confederation was rejected, Franklin and others continued to argue that the colonies should act more cohesively. At the beginning of

1914-474: The Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state. The following units belonged to the South Carolina State troops initially and were transferred to the Continental Army on the dates indicated. The original commanders, their ranks, and the dates the units were established and disbanded are included. All of

1980-437: The Continental Congress" were equally to blame "for the institution's eventual failure", and that the "institutional structure worked against, rather than with, the delegates in tackling the crucial issues of the day." Historian Richard P. McCormick suggested that Madison's "extreme judgment" on the Congress was "motivated no doubt by Madison's overriding desire to create a new central government that would be empowered to veto

2046-632: The First Congress in 1774, and their perspective on 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

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2112-473: The King for a redress of grievances . The colonies were united in their effort to demonstrate to the mother country their authority by virtue of their common causes and their unity, but their ultimate objectives were inconsistent. Most delegates were not yet ready to break away from Great Britain, but they most definitely wanted the king and parliament to act in what they considered a fairer manner. Delegates from

2178-533: The Second Congress concluded that peace with Britain would not be forthcoming, and began working towards unifying the colonies into a new nation. The body adopted the Lee Resolution for Independence on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4, 1776, proclaiming that the former colonies were now independent sovereign states . The Second Continental Congress served as

2244-537: The Senate, but, having failed to gain that appointment — Samuel Allyne Otis was instead appointed Secretary of the Senate on April 8, 1789 — Thomson relinquished his commission and handed over the Great Seal of the United States and his official papers to the United States Department of Foreign Affairs (the precursor of the United States Department of State) on July 23, 1789. In April, 1789, Thomson

2310-547: The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766. The colonists' resistance to the Stamp Act served as a catalyst for subsequent acts of resistance. The Townshend Acts , which imposed indirect taxes on various items not produced within the colonies, and created a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, passed by Parliament in 1767 and 1768, sparked renewed animosity in the colonies, which eventually resulted in

2376-567: The Stamp Act was repealed. To present a united front in their opposition, delegates from several provinces met in the Stamp Act Congress , which convened in New York City from October 7 through 25, 1765. It issued a Declaration of Rights and Grievances , which it sent to Parliament . Under pressure from British companies hurt by the embargo, the government of Prime Minister Lord Rockingham and King George III relented, and

2442-671: The State Troops that became Continental Line were effectively decimated during the Siege of Charleston —either by action or by surrender on May 12, 1780. Between July 1775 and May 1780, the six regiments participated in engagements in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Continental Congress The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1774 in response to escalating tensions between

2508-480: The acts of state legislatures," but that it fails "to take any notice of the fact that while the authority of the Confederation Congress was ambiguous, it was not a nullity". Benjamin Irvin in his social and cultural history of the Continental Congress, praised "the invented traditions by which Congress endeavored to fortify the resistance movement and to make meaning of American independence." But he noted that after

2574-618: The colonies and the British, which culminated in passage of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament following the Boston Tea Party . The First Congress met for about six weeks, mainly to try to repair the fraying relationship between Britain and the colonies while asserting the rights of colonists , proclaiming and passing the Continental Association , which was a unified trade embargo against Britain, and successfully building consensus for establishment of

2640-561: The crisis over the Stamp Act 1765 . Thomson became a leader of Philadelphia's Sons of Liberty . He was inducted into the American Philosophical Society around 1750. Thomson was a leader in the revolution of the early 1770s. John Adams called him the " Samuel Adams of Philadelphia". Thomson served as the secretary of the Continental Congress in its entirety. Through those 15 years, the Congress saw many delegates come and go, but Thomson's dedication to recording

2706-504: The debates and decisions provided continuity. Along with John Hancock , the president of the Congress, Thomson's name (as secretary) appeared on the first published version of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. Thomson's role as secretary to Congress was not limited to clerical duties. According to biographer Boyd Schlenther, Thomson "took a direct role in the conduct of foreign affairs." Fred S. Rolater has suggested that Thomson

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2772-406: The declaration, and John Adams was a leader in the debates in favor of its adoption. Afterward, the Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States of America through March 1, 1781. To govern the war effort and to foster unity among the states , Congress created various standing committees to handle war-related activities, such as the committee of secret correspondence,

2838-480: 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. The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, at Pennsylvania's State House in Philadelphia shortly after

2904-470: The estate provided by Jefferson's literary executor, Thomas Jefferson Randolph . The new publication corrected some errors in the original Stockdale publication, including an error in the original publication which Jefferson made note of in a 1785 missive to Thomson: "Pray ask the favor of Colo Monroe in page 5, line 17, to strike out the words 'above the mouth of the Appomattox,' which makes none sense of

2970-417: The final version of the Great Seal, Thomson (a former Latin teacher) kept the pyramid and eye for the reverse side but replaced the two mottos, using Annuit Cœptis instead of Deo Favente (and Novus ordo seclorum instead of Perennis ). When he provided his official explanation of the meaning of this motto, he wrote: The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to

3036-437: The former colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament. Congress had the power to declare war, sign treaties, and settle disputes between the states. It could also borrow or print money, but did not have the power to tax. It helped guide the United States through the final stages of the Revolutionary War, but steeply declined in authority afterward. During peacetime, there were two important, long-lasting acts of

3102-405: The largest army and navy in the world, and created two new types of republic. Olsen suggests that the Congress, if slow, when judged by its many achievements – not the least being recognizing its flaws, then replacing and terminating itself – was a success. Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born patriot leader in Philadelphia during

3168-511: The many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause. Thomson's service was not without its critics. James Searle , a delegate and close friend of John Adams, began a cane fight on the floor of Congress against Thomson over a claim that he was misquoted in the minutes that resulted in both men being slashed in the face. Such brawls on the floor were common, and many of them were prompted by argument over Thomson's recordings. Political disagreements prevented Thomson from getting

3234-410: The meetings of the first U.S. Congress in 1789 pending the appointment of clerks and secretaries by both Houses, and he accordingly staffed the sessions of the United States Senate during the first few months of its existence, still signing papers under the title of Secretary of the Congress. Thomson aspired to be confirmed as Secretary of the newly constituted U.S. Congress or to be appointed Secretary of

3300-515: The modern congress run by powerful partisan hierarchies, but modern government and corporate entities, for all their coercive power and vaunted skills as 'leaders'." Looking at their mission as defined by state resolutions and petitions entered into the Congressional Journal on its first day, it found that on the common issues of the relief of Boston, securing Colonial rights, eventually restoring harmonious relations with Great Britain, and repealing taxes, they overachieved their mission goals, defeated

3366-442: The new Constitution of the United States took over the role as the nation's legislative branch of government. Both the First and Second Continental Congresses convened in Philadelphia , though when the city was captured during the Revolutionary War, the Second Congress was forced to meet in other locations for a time. The Congress of Confederation was also established in Philadelphia and later moved to New York City , which served as

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3432-506: The others, voting on ordinances was done en bloc , with each state having a single vote. Prior to casting its yay or 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, and 39% by session-to-session. Of

3498-470: The owner of Harriton Plantation in what is now Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania . Thomson spent his final years at Harriton House , working on a translation of the Septuagint version of the Bible . His was the first English translation of the Septuagint published. The printer was Jane Aitken of Philadelphia. Thomson also published a synopsis of the Four Evangelists in 1815. In retirement, he pursued his interests in agricultural science and beekeeping. Thomson

3564-406: The passage...". The Historical Printing Society publication removes Thomson's notes from the appendix and instead offers them in footnote form throughout the work, according to the original plates to which they refer. Thomson married Ruth Mather in 1758. She and their twin infant daughters all died in 1769. On September 1, 1774, he married Hannah Harrison (1728-1807), daughter of Richard Harrison,

3630-451: The penniless boys were separated on arrival at New Castle, Delaware . Charles was first cared for by a blacksmith in New Castle and was educated in New London, Pennsylvania . In 1750 he became a tutor in Latin at the Philadelphia Academy , an ancestor school of the University of Pennsylvania . During the French and Indian War , Thomson was an opponent of the Pennsylvania proprietors ' American Indian policies. He served as secretary at

3696-411: The provinces of Pennsylvania and New York were given firm instructions to pursue a resolution with Great Britain. While the other colonies all held the idea of colonial rights as paramount, they were split between those who sought legislative equality with Britain and those who instead favored independence and a break from the Crown and its excesses. In London, Parliament debated the merits of meeting

3762-406: The publisher's note of the Historical Printing Society edition of Thomas Jefferson 's Notes on the State of Virginia (1894), edited by John Leicester Ford, Thomson contributed a 25-page appendix to the original English publication, published by John Stockdale of London in a run of approximately 200 copies. In 1853 JW Randolph and Company republished the work and incorporated various materials from

3828-401: The start of the Revolutionary War . Initially, it functioned as a de facto common government by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties. The Thirteen Colonies were represented when in the following year it adopted a resolution for independence on July 2, 1776, and two days later approved the Declaration of Independence . Thomas Jefferson drafted

3894-449: 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 ". Delegates chose a presiding 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

3960-486: The treasury board, the board of war and ordnance, and the navy board. Much work was also done in small ad hoc committees. One such small group was tasked with developing a constitution to perpetuate the new Union . Such an agreement, the Articles of Confederation was approved by Congress on November 15, 1777, and sent to the states for ratification . The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all Thirteen Colonies , and

4026-426: The war's end, "Rather than passively adopting the Congress's creations, the American people embraced, rejected, reworked, ridiculed, or simply ignored them as they saw fit." An organizational culture analysis of the Continental Congress by Neil Olsen, looking for the values, norms, and underlying assumptions that drive an organization's decisions, noted that "the leaderless Continental Congress outperformed not only

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4092-407: Was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813. According to Thomas Jefferson, writing to John Adams in 1822, Thomson became senile in his old age and was unable to recognize members of his own household. "Is this life?" Jefferson asked. "It is at most but the life of a cabbage; surely not worth a wish." Thomson died on August 16, 1824. He was initially interred beside his wife in

4158-488: Was essentially the "Prime Minister of the United States." Thomson is also noted for designing, with William Barton , the Great Seal of the United States , which played a prominent role in the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784 ( Ratification Day ). Britain's representatives in Paris initially disputed the placement of the Great Seal and Congressional President Thomas Mifflin 's signature until they were mollified by Benjamin Franklin . When designing

4224-420: Was forced to sue for peace and to surrender his entire army to General Washington. During 1783, the Americans secured the official recognition of the independence of the United States from Great Britain following negotiations with British diplomats in Paris , which culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. The Treaty of Paris was later ratified by the British Parliament. Both

4290-416: Was selected as the new Superintendent of Finance, and then Morris secured a loan from the French government to deal with his empty treasury and also runaway inflation, for a number of years, in the supply of paper money. As the ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin secured the loan for a common budget, and also persuaded France to send an army of about 6,000 soldiers to the United States and to dispatch

4356-409: Was sent by the Senate to the home of George Washington in Virginia to notify him that he had been elected president of the United States. Thomson then accompanied Washington to New York for his inauguration . As secretary of Congress, Thomson chose what to include in the official journals of the Continental Congress . He also prepared a work of over 1,000 pages that covered the political history of

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