Why did Americans wait so long before they declared their independence?

Printed Page 174

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Figure false: Declaration of Independence Read to a Crowd
Figure false: Printed copies of the Declaration of Independence were read aloud in public places throughout America in the week after July 4, 1776. Library of Congress.

ON MAY 10, 1775, nearly one month after the fighting at Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia. The congress immediately set to work on two crucial but contradictory tasks: to raise and supply an army and to explore reconciliation with Britain. To raise an army, they needed soldiers and a commander, they needed money, and they needed to work out a declaration of war. To reconcile with Britain, they needed diplomacy to approach the king. But King George III was not receptive, and by 1776, as the war progressed and hopes of reconciliation faded, delegates at the congress began to ponder the treasonous act of declaring independence.

CHRONOLOGY

1775

  • – Second Continental Congress convenes.
  • – Battle of Bunker Hill.
  • – Olive Branch Petition.

1776

  • – Common Sense is published.
  • – British evacuate Boston.
  • – Declaration of Independence.

Second Continental Congress

image Legislative body that governed the United States from May 1775 through the war’s duration. It established an army, created its own money, and declared independence once all hope for a peaceful reconciliation with Britain was gone.