Body of delegates that acted for the American colonies and states during and after the American Revolution .
The First Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in September 1774, was called by the colonial Committees of Correspondence . The delegates adopted a declaration of personal rights, denounced taxation without representation, petitioned the British crown for a redress of grievances, and called for a boycott of British goods. The Second Continental Congress, meeting in May 1775, appointed George Washington commander in chief of the army. It later approved the Declaration of Independence (1776) and prepared the Articles of Confederation (1781), which granted certain powers to the Congress.