Delegate to Second Continental Congress

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Delegate to Second Continental Congress

In 1775, in Massachusetts, a war broke out between Britain and its North American colonies. Delegates from all 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in May of 1775 to modify the acts they had established in the first Congress. I was elected as one of the delegates to represent Virginia. America had suffered a lot from colonization. Some of the effects of colonization were war, diseases, and slavery. However, there were also good things, such as building quality houses, growth, and infrastructure development. In this paper, I’m going to discuss my contribution to Congress.

Firstly, I contributed to the declaration of independence. July 2, 1726, we had a meeting in Philadelphia where we voted to declare the United States of America as an independent country. On July 4, we signed the declaration of independence. Initially, we had not formed a second continental congress to declare independence. The pressure of independence came between 1775 and 1776 because our colonists, Great Britain, had refused to give us our demands, and they were making our lives to be more hostile. In May 1776, we suggested creating our own government independent of our colonists.

I was also a member of the committee in which we were tasked with drafting a declaration. Jefferson drafted it, and we revised it with other delegates and members of Congress. In his draft, he condemned George 111 for allowing slavery. He argued that all men are created equal and subjected to equal rights. A wealthy band of highly educated men signed the declaration of independence. The independence allowed us to seek alliances with other foreign countries. This helped us in a revolutionary war. Without their support, we could have lost because we lacked the improved infrastructure to provide our Continental Army with sufficient supplies and provisions. One of the greatest alliances that were formed was the Franco-American alliance which brought much success. It funded and supplied the Continental army with provisions and supplies. The Declaration of independence also enabled the government to perform its normal functions.

Secondly, we backed up the appointment of ambassadors. We appointed George Washington as the commander in chief of the continental army and gave him powers to raise the army. Washington was given the power to select and guide the generals. The first attempt to fight for our states was In June 1776 and was conducted by the Board of War and ordnance committee. This committee was succeeded by a Board of war in mid-1777 and included some members of the defense forces. Washington was in charge of training the army and providing supplies. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was assigned a duty to train soldiers. The army was transformed into a powerful and disciplined one. Although the supply of troops was under the purview of Congress, Washington pressured them to provide the essentials.

Washington was also assigned duties of balancing regional demands and feeding, arming, equipping, and moving troops. Although there was no money, Washington managed to build experienced troops. The British seized New Jersey, but Washington attacked them back with surprise. He crossed the icy Delaware River, and he managed to defeat all British armies in New Jersey. He was defeated in 1777 with the defense of Philadelphia, and with the support of Horatio Gates, he managed to defeat Burgoyne at Saratoga. The victory led the French to form an open military alliance with them through the Treaty of Alliance (1778). Spain and the Netherlands joined France to undermine British powers. Britain, without friends, suffered from increased war. French, Spain, Netherlands, and American forces cooperated American army, and the French army fought the British army until 1783 when peace was attained. Washington led to the revolutionary of the American war.

To conclude, delegates helped in the declaration of independence and the appointment of the chief commander of the continental army. The declaration of independence unified us and enabled us to fight our colonists with unity. This was an easy way to make peace agreements with Great Britain. The chief commander of the continental army made surprise attacks which made us achieve independence.

References

Declaration of independence (USA). (n.d.). Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online. https://doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_com_029235A&E Networks Television. (2020, January 15). Founding fathers. Biography.com. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/people/groups/founding-fathers