Second Continental Congress

The Congress

Philadelphia, PA

During the period of the American Revolution, the body of delegates from each colony that acted collectively for the people was known as the Continental Congress. There were two Continental Congresses; the first met in 1774 and the second met from 1775-1781. Here, Occom refers to the Second Continental Congress, which, besides declaring independence and preparing the Articles of Confederation that legalized its powers, sent out commissioners to visit the Indian Tribes of the Northeast and persuade them to remain neutral during the conflict with Britain. Jacob Fowler, Mary Fowler Occom's brother, was one such commissioner, who worked for Governor John Trumbull of Connecticut.

"Continental Congress." Encyclopedia Britannica. academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/134850/Continental-Congress; McCallum, James Dow, ed. The Letters of Eleazar Wheelock's Indians. Hanover: Dartmouth College Publications, 1932.