The Continental Congress was an itinerant legislature, often moving to escape British forces during the Revolutionary War.
The First Continental Congress met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1774. When the Delegates reconvened in May 1775, however, they met in Pennsylvania’s state house. By late 1776, as the British neared Philadelphia, Congress relocated 100 miles south to Baltimore, Maryland. In the summer of 1777, it moved to Lancaster and York in southeastern Pennsylvania. When the British abandoned Philadelphia, ending a ten-month occupation in the summer of 1778, the Continental Congress returned to the city for the remainder of the war.
On March 1, 1781, the Continental Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation and became known as the Confederation Congress. In the summer of 1783 a group of veterans from Pennsylvania’s state militias who sought back pay from their war service marched on Philadelphia and forced the Congress to move yet again. As the veterans neared the Pennsylvania state house where the Confederation Congress was then meeting, President Elias Boudinot convinced the Delegates to relocate to Princeton, New Jersey, on June 30, 1783. The Congress remained there until late fall, before subsequently moving to Annapolis, Maryland, and Trenton, New Jersey. It found a permanent home in New York’s City Hall in January 1785.1 Following the ratification of the Constitution, and two days after the Confederation Congress adjourned permanently on March 2, the First Federal Congress convened in City Hall (which was renamed Federal Hall after Congress moved in and was renovated by Pierre L’Enfant) on March 4, 1789.2
Congress Building & Location Duration First Continental Congress Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, PA Sep. 5–Oct. 26, 17743 Second Continental Congress State House, Philadelphia, PA May 10, 1775–Dec. 12, 17764 Henry Fite’s House, Baltimore, MD Dec. 20, 1776–Feb. 27, 17775 State House, Philadelphia, PA Mar. 4, 1777–Sep. 18, 17776 Court House, Lancaster, PA Sep. 27, 17777 Court House, York, PA Sep. 30, 1777–June 27, 17788 State House, Philadelphia, PA July 2, 1778–Mar. 1, 17819 Confederation Congress State House, Philadelphia, PA Mar. 2, 1781–June 21, 178310 Nassau Hall, Princeton, NJ June 30–Nov. 4, 178311 State House, Annapolis, MD Nov. 26, 1783–June 3, 178412 French Arms Tavern, Trenton, NJ Nov. 1–Dec. 24, 178413 City Hall, New York, NY Jan. 11–Nov. 4, 1785; Nov. 7, 1785–Nov. 3, 1786; Nov. 6, 1786–Oct. 30, 1787; Nov. 5, 1787–Oct. 21, 1788; Nov. 3, 1788–Mar. 2, 178914RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
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