The Continental Congress is the first and forgotten government of the United States It sprang up in 1774 in response to the first of the Coercive Acts, the British closure of Boston Harbor. The Congress attempted to coordinate the activities of what were still thirteen British colonies to preserve their rights as Englishman. It did so without any formal grant of powers, no charter, no Articles of Confederation, no Constitution. It did not lead the colonists into armed conflict with Great Britain. The militia at Lexington and Concord did that in April of 1775. The Congress' greatest accomplishments were the appointment of