America 250: 7 important dates for the Declaration of Independence
1. Second Continental Congress begins — May 10, 1775
The Second Continental Congress began its meeting weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, when colonial militia exchanged gunfire with British army regulars.
When they met, the Congress had 12 of the 13 colonies represented, serving as a provisional government for what would eventually become the newly independent nation.
A successor to the First Continental Congress, which met in 1774, the body “provided leadership to the American Colonies at a critical time,” according to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Later in 1775, the body drafted the “Olive Branch Petition,” which sought to make peace with King George III while maintaining that the American colonists had rights as British citizens. However, the petition was rejected.
