On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress convened for its opening session in the building that would later become known as Independence Hall. Its organization followed the Battles of Lexington and Concord that April. With all other means of contending with the British Empire then exhausted, its purpose was to place the colonies on a war footing.
Two hundred fifty years later, why should we care about the anniversary of a legislative body that no longer exists? After all, it was replaced by a new Congress under the Articles of Confederation in 1781, and was replaced again by the Congress under the Constitution several years later.
First and foremost, this body would declare America’s independence just 14 months after its convening. In the process, the Continental Congress set forth the most extraordinary political statement about human dignity, freedom, and equality ever written. They changed the world forever.
But none of that would have happened if leaders from 12 of the 13 colonies (the 13th joined later on) hadn’t decided to form a congress. This was the Congress that created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, and the next day named a Virginia farmer and veteran of the French and Indian War named George Washington as commander-in-chief. None of the underdog, revolutionary American war effort would have been possible without the critical governance and support of the deliberative body that met together in Philadelphia, and then later in Baltimore, York, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
We are indebted for our nation’s existence to the revolutionaries who took part in that Congress. Some have familiar names like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and John Hancock, but others are less familiar, like Abraham Clark of New Jersey and William Williams of Connecticut.
We would be remiss not to see the continuing legacies of the Second Continental Congress 250 years later. The American pattern of organizing legislative bodies is a remarkable feature of our political tradition.
Not only did the Constitution make the legislative branch a permanent institution of the federal government, but it also mandated republican government throughout the states. State constitutions set in motion 50 different experiments in legislating. Just as importantly, local governments everywhere rely on legislative bodies – county commissions, city councils, school boards, fire commissions, and water boards – for their governance. The great legislation we remember, from the passage of amendments to ban slavery and give women the vote to the Civil Rights Act, stands alongside countless smaller acts of state and local legislative service to build roads, open schools, and ameliorate poverty.
But the American legislative tradition is more than just another element of our political life. The American way of working together in teams is an extraordinary feature of our cultural life, and an indispensable ingredient in our national success. Think of the great sports teams, astronaut crews, and startup companies that made their mark for all the right reasons. Remember Lewis and Clark, the Wright Brothers, and the Doolittle Raiders.
In the many thousands of civil society organizations across the country – from food banks and Rotary Clubs to universities and hospitals – teamwork is alive and well. Millions of citizens are members of nonprofit governing boards. Millions more exercise team leadership in public and social sector roles as school principals, church pastors, or government agency executives.
The great business writer Jim Collins has observed that great social sector leaders don’t just draw on executive skills to move their organizations forward – they use legislative skills too. They listen, persuade, win buy-in, and turn individual talents into collective impact. It turns out these skills are incredibly valuable in business as well.
If we are all too aware of counterexamples, where leaders, legislative bodies, and other American institutions have fallen short of their potential, the blame lies in part with those who chose not to get involved.
Self-government depends on each one of us doing our part.
In that spirit, there could be no more fitting way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday than to join the board of a nonprofit or perhaps start one, lobby elected leaders for a needed change, or even run for office. And let us never forget the members of the Second Continental Congress who made the practice of legislating a great American tradition.
