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Declaration of Colonial Rights


The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (also known as the Declaration of Colonial Rights, or the Declaration of Rights), was a statement adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 14, 1774, in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament. The Declaration outlined colonial objections to the Intolerable Acts, listed a colonial bill of rights, and provided a detailed list of grievances. It was similar to the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, passed by the Stamp Act Congress a decade earlier.

The Declaration concluded with an outline of Congress's plans: to enter into a boycott of British trade (the Continental Association) until their grievances were redressed, to publish addresses to the people of Great Britain and British America, and to send a petition to the King.

In the wake of the Boston Tea Party, the British government instated the Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts in the colonies. There were five Acts within the Intolerable Acts; the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act. These acts placed harsher legislation on the colonies, especially in Massachusetts, changed the justice system in the colonies, made colonists provide for the quartering of permanent British troops, and expanded the borders of Quebec. The colonies became enraged at the implementation of these laws as they felt it limited their rights and freedoms. Outraged delegates from the colonies united to share their grievances in the First Continental Congress in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774 to determine if the colonies should, or were interested in taking action against the British. All the colonies except Georgia sent delegates to this conference. The First Continental Congress produced five resolves, one of which was the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress:


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