Continental Congress

American  

noun

American History.

1. either of two legislative congresses during and after the Revolutionary War. The first was in session from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to petition the British government for a redress of grievances. The second existed from May 10, 1775, to 1789, and issued the Declaration of Independence and established the Articles of Confederation.

---

Continental Congress British  

noun

1. the assembly of delegates from the North American rebel colonies held during and after the War of American Independence. It issued the Declaration of Independence (1776) and framed the Articles of Confederation (1777)

---

Continental Congress Cultural  

1. An assembly of delegates from the thirteen colonies (soon to become the thirteen states). It governed during the Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress first met in 1774, before the revolution. When it reconvened in 1775, it organized for war against Britain and eventually passed the Declaration of Independence.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Continental Congress

As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he voted twice against adopting the Declaration of Independence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The captured ship was then brought back to Britain and its papers seized, including the privateer's commission, printed instructions from the Continental Congress, and the Declaration itself.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

As early as the Revolutionary War, their value to the young nation was such that the Continental Congress exempted printer’s devils from army service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Church bells pealed and cannons thundered when Americans learned that the Continental Congress had adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Henry Laurens of South Carolina, the president of the Continental Congress for a term, had become one of America’s richest men by shipping as many as 8,000 people from Africa to America.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis