Virginia Delegates to the First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on Monday, September 5, 1774. The colonial delegations were introduced in geographical order, from North to South. The Virginia delegates were the tenth group to introduce themselves and have their letter of introduction read. The delegates who attended the first meeting were:
- Peyton Randolph
- George Washington
- Patrick Henry
- Richard Bland
- Benjamin Harrison
- Edmund Pendleton
The Virginia Letter of Introduction
Monday the 1st of August, in the year of our Lord, 1774.
At a general meeting of Delegates from the different Counties in this Colony, convened in the city of Williamsburgh, to take under their consideration the present critical and alarming situation of the Continent of North-America:
The Honourable Peyton Randolph in the Chair:
It was unanimously resolved; that it is the opinion of this meeting, that it will be highly conducive to the security and happiness of the British Empire, that a general congress of deputies from all the Colonies, assemble as quickly as the nature of their situations will admit, to consider of the most proper and effectual manner of so operating on the commercial connexion of the colonies with the Mother Country, as to procure redress for the much injured province of Massachusetts-Bay, to secure British America from the ravage and ruin of arbitrary taxes, and speedily as possible to procure the return of that harmony and Union, so beneficial to the whole Empire, and so ardently desired by all British America.
Friday, August 5th, 1774.
The Meeting proceeded to the choice of Delegates, to represent this Colony in general Congress, when the honble. Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, & Edmund Pendleton, Esqrs. were appointed for that purpose.
Biographies
Richard Bland
Richard Bland is a Founding Father who signed the Articles of Association and the Declaration of Independence. He was the author of An Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies, which questioned Parliament’s right to levy taxes on the colonies.
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison is a Founding Father who signed the Articles of Association and the Declaration of Independence. His son, William Henry Harrison, was the 9th President of the United States.
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry is a Founding Father. He was a member of the Continental Congress, where he signed the Articles of Association and the Declaration of Independence. Henry went on to serve five terms as the Governor of Virginia.
Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee is a Founding Father. As a member of the First Continental Congress, he signed the Articles of Association, establishing the Continental Association. Lee is most well known for introducing the Resolution for Independence to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776.
Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton was a planter and politician who attended the First Continental Congress and signed the Articles of Association. Pendleton preferred a peaceful resolution with Great Britain but supported the Patriot Cause. He went on to play a significant role in the development of Virginia’s government and presided over the Virginia Convention that approved the United States Constitution.
Peyton Randolph
Peyton Randolph was a lawyer, politician, and planter from Virginia who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Randolph served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses and the first President of the Continental Congress in 1774. His leadership was important to the Patriot Cause, earning him the nickname “The Father of Your Country.”
George Washington
George Washington is a Founding Father for his contributions to the establishment of the United States, primarily in leading the Continental Army to victory over the British in the American Revolutionary War. Afterward, he oversaw the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and served two terms as the first President of the United States under the Constitution.
Notes
- Richard Henry Lee took his seat in Congress on September 6.
- Thomas Jefferson was not a delegate to the First Continental Congress.
