What was the Continental Congress?

The Continental Congress was the first national government of the United States. It comprised two successive bodies of representatives of provinces of the Thirteen Colonies in 18th century British North America:

The First Continental Congress met from September 5, 1774, to October 26, 1774.

The Second Continental Congress met from May 10, 1775, to the ratification of the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781.

Upon the ratification of the Articles, the Continental Congress was succeeded by the first legislative government of the United States:

The Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled ran from March 1, 1781, until the government under the Constitution became operative on March 4, 1789. The membership of the Second Continental Congress automatically carried over to the Congress of the Confederation.

Initially formed to coordinate a common American response to the Intolerable Acts, the Continental Congress rapidly became the governing body of a new nation as the dispute with the British government escalated into the American Revolutionary War. Once the war ended, the members of the Congress served as the governing body of the United States of America, reorganized as a new national legislature.