The Second Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia in May 1775. Among the representatives present were Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Dickinson. Although men like the two Adamses and Lee favored independence, most members of Congress were not ready to take that step. In November 1775, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “There is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do.” Despite ongoing military operations, many Americans hoped for reconciliation with Britain. Congress expressed perplexed ambiguity about its relationship with Great Britain in two documents addressed to King George III.

The first of these was the Olive Branch Petition, drafted by John Dickinson. This asserted the continuing loyalty of Americans to the King. It asked the King to refrain from further hostilities until a settlement was reached. The second document was produced by Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson and titled “Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms.” Here Congress denied that it was aiming at independence. It blamed the outbreak of war squarely on British policy. The Declaration concluded that Americans had been forced into a choice between “unconditional surrender to the tyranny of irritated ministers or resistance by force.”

Alternately conciliatory and defiant, these documents reflected American indecision about the future. They had little practical effect. George III and Parliament rejected both. The King responded with a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition. Parliament passed the Prohibitory Act, which forbade trade with the colonies and imposed a naval blockade on American ports.

Whatever their uncertainties about the degree of independence America should enjoy, the members of Congress were committed to the fight against British policy. When word arrived of Lord North's proposals for a compromise, Congress saw them as too little, too late. Congress moved quickly to address the practical business of waging a war. In doing so, Congress took on the most important function of a government.

Following the fighting at Lexington and Concord, a large force of New England militia besieged General Gage's forces in Boston. Congress believed it was essential that the struggle not be regarded as a strictly local affair in Massachusetts, but instead be understood as a shared endeavor. On a motion by John Adams, Congress adopted the forces outside Boston as a Continental army. It authorized the recruitment of six companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to reinforce the Boston army and give it a more genuinely continental tone.

The Continental army needed a commander. John Adams promoted the candidacy of George Washington. The forty-three-year-old Virginian was physically imposing at over six feet tall, with a muscular frame. He wore his militia uniform to the sessions of Congress and looked the way a commander should. But Washington brought with him more than show. He had seen extensive service in the French and Indian War, eventually commanding Virginia's provincial troops. Few Americans had more experience in combat. In addition, Washington was known to be soundly moderate in his views but politically reliable. He had always opposed the exactions of Parliament without ever acquiring the taint of radicalism. Washington's character, the steadiness and determination that would carry him through the vicissitudes of a long and harrowing war, already impressed those around him. Also important to many congressmen was the fact that he was a southerner, whose presence with the army would help rally support for the war.

Congress appointed Washington to the command of the Continental army on June 15. Washington accepted the charge with a combination of humility and prudent concern about the enormity of the task set him. He expressed “great distress from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important trust.” Congress rounded out the Continental army's high command by naming four major generals and eight brigadier generals. During the war, Congress handled all promotions to the rank of general. Field officers were appointed by the authorities in their respective states. Congress also began to set up the administrative apparatus of an army, setting standards for enlistments, pay, rations, and military justice.