The project of the Annapolis Continental Congress Society is to finish the two-part story of how the United States was created by partnering the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where the story of the 1787-89 Constitutional Convention is told, with the National Continental Congress Center in Annapolis that would cover the entire 1774-89 period but would focus primarily on 1774-86, with a special emphasis on the 1783-86 ANNAPOLIS ERA that includes the important role that Annapolis played in the formation of the United States as the bridge between the end of the Revolutionary War and the Constitutional Convention.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Annapolis, Maryland
The program above represents our long-term vision.
The program above represents a scaled-down version that could possibly exist much sooner within an existing structure.
Above: The National Continental Congress Center will be a place where all of the versions of the Continental Congress, the 10 buildings in the 8 cities where they met, the 14 men who served as its President and the important documents they governed by, including the Articles of Confederation and the Treaty of Paris, can be studied, lectured about, discussed, and re-enacted with year-round events that include interactive exhibits, author signings, live musical and theatrical performances, festivals, exhibits and programs for the entire community.
VIRTUAL TOUR
Below: Interactive exhibits like they have at the National Constitution Center will chronicle the 1774-89 period’s major assemblies including the First and Second Continental Congresses; the Confederation Congress and the United States in Congress Assembled; the 1785 Mount Vernon Conference and the 1786 Annapolis Convention (meetings that led to the 1787 Constitutional Convention).
Cities, Buildings and Presidents
CLICK on the above image to view the eight cities and ten buildings where the Congress met.
CLICK on the above image to view all fourteen Presidents of Congress (before George Washington).
Below: Visitors will be able to experience the Continental Congress through touch screens, theatrical performances and feature films--including 3-D and even 4-D movies.
Below: The major documents of the 1774-89 era will be on display under glass, just like at the National Archives: the Articles of Conferderation (March 1, 1781), the Treaty of Paris (Sept. 3, 1783), George Washington's resignation letter (Dec. 23, 1783) and the Treaty of Paris Proclamation (Jan. 14, 1784).
The Articles of Confederation (1777)
The Treaty ofParis (1783)
George Washington's Resignation Letter (1783)
The Treaty of Paris Proclamation (1784)
Below: A Hall of Presidents would focus on the fourteen men who served before George Washington and would feature paintings, sculptures, holograms and animatronics like they do at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Below: The National Continental Congress Center will feature a bookstore and gift shop where visitors can purchase books on Continental Congress presidents and influential delegates, Annapolis-based souvenirs and reproductions of all of the major 1774-89 documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, George Washington's resignation letter, the Treaty of Paris, the ratified Treaty of Paris Proclamation, the appointment of Thomas Jefferson to France, documents associated with the 1786 Annapolis Convention, and the Constitution.
Below: A cafe would serve favorite dishes from 1774-89 and feature outdoor presidential monuments of such notable figures as Peyton Randolph, John Hancock, John Jay, Samuel Huntington, John Hanson and Thomas Mifflin, reminding visitors that they, too, deserve recognition.
MISSION STATEMENT
The National Continental Congress Center would be dedicated to all of the variations of the Continental Congresses and their Presidents, within the entire 1774-89 period, with a special emphasis on the role of Annapolis from 1783-86, when Annapolis was the capital of an officially independent nation, recognized as such by the ratification of the Treaty of Paris.
The goal is for visitors to see everywhere in the Center an emphasis on the creation of the United States as a 3-step process:
1. Revolution (1774-83)
2. Annapolis (1783-86)
3. Constitutional Convention (1787-89)
At the National Continental Congress Center visitors will see and become part of notable events in the history of the Continental Congress, including the votes to raise a Continental Army and Navy, the vote to declare independence from Great Britain, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, ratifying the Articles of Confederation, the day Cornwallis surrendered, attempts to amend the Articles of Confederation, and Annapolis-based events such as the day Congress convened in Annapolis, George Washington resigning his commission, the Treaty of Paris being signed in France and ratified in Annapolis, the appointment of Thomas Jefferson to France, Samuel Chase of Annapolis attending the Mt. Vernon Compact of 1785, the Annapolis Convention of 1786, Shay's Rebellion and the first and last sessions of the Continental Congress (1774, 1789) as a prelude to a trip to Philadelphia to see how the Constitution transformed the unicameral Continental Congress into the bicameral Congress of the United States of America with a House of Representatives, a Senate, a President and an independent court system.
To fully understand why Philadelphia was necessary, you need to know what happened in Annapolis.
The ANNAPOLIS ERA: 1783-86
Above: In the fall of 1783, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris--and with it, the end of the Revolutionary War and the beginning of official recognition by Great Britain--General George Washington of the Continental Army of the United States sent a letter to the Congress that had arrived in Annapolis, Maryland on November 26, 1783. Washington asked, "In what manner will it be most proper to offer my resignation?" The Congress quickly resolved that "His Excellency the Commander in Chief be admitted to a Public Audience, on Tuesday next [December 23] at twelve o'clock." It then appointed Thomas Jefferson to chair a committee to draft a memorial and design a ceremony that would allow the President of the Congress, Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania, to thank General Washington for his unselfish service and express the gratitude of a grateful nation. It was the first peaceful transition of power from the military to a civilian government in world history.
Above: On January 14, 1784 President Mifflin and the Congress performed arguably the single greatest act of the American Revolution: they ratified the Treaty of Paris, after which the Proclamation was signed by President Mifflin and Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson. This secured the official independence of the United States and transitioned the new nation from from a long, bloody war to a new beginning in Annapolis, the first peacetime capital of the United States of America.
Above: In early March 1785, delegates from Maryland and Virginia, including Samuel Chase of Annapolis, met for a conference at George Washington's home in Mount Vernon to deal with inadequate rules covering commerce in general, and fishing and navigation in particular, involving the waters of the Potomac River, the Pocomoke Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
Above: Following the conference at Mount Vernon the year before, between September 11 and 14, 1786 twelve delegates from five states came to Annapolis for a convention that would attempt to remedy the imperfections of the Articles of Confederation. Unable to agree on corrective amendments to the Articles, the delegates unanimously agreed to a resolution by Alexander Hamilton that a convention convene to begin writing a new document. The following year, Philadelphia hosted that convention, chaired by George Washington, and by March 4, 1789, the Continental Congress period in America's history came to an end when Washington became President of the United States, a bicameral Congress replaced the unicameral national legislature under the leadership of "presidents" and the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation.
The 3 Stages of the Founding of America
1. Revolution, 1774-83
2. Post-war Transition, 1783-86 (the ANNAPOLIS ERA)
3. Constitutional Convention, 1787-89
The 4 Major pre-Consitution Cities
1. The Greater Boston Area gave birth to the Revolutionary War
2. Philadelphia proclaimed independence and wrote the Constitution
3. Annapolis guided the new nation from war to peace by accepting George Washington's 1783 resignation from the Army symbolizing the peaceful transition of power from the military to a civilian government; ratifying the Treaty of Paris in 1784, making it the first peacetime capital of the United States; and contributing to the 1785 Mount Vernon Conference that led to its hosting the 1786 Convention that called for a Constiutional Convention.
4. New York finalized the transition to a federal government from a confederal government.
The Important Legacy of the Continental Congress Period, 1774-89
You can change that by joining the Annapolis Continental Congress Society in its effort to create a National Continental Congress Center in Annapolis, Maryland. Your donation will help pay for the 2013 Continental Congress Festival: "Prelude to Philadelphia: The 1786 Annapolis Convention," September 11-14 when for four days the Masonic Lodge in Annapolis will become the National Continental Congress Center and from this event we hope to create popular support for a national home for the nation's "First Form of Government."
1. Revolution, 1774-83
2. Post-war Transition, 1783-86 (the ANNAPOLIS ERA)
3. Constitutional Convention, 1787-89
The 4 Major pre-Consitution Cities
1. The Greater Boston Area gave birth to the Revolutionary War
2. Philadelphia proclaimed independence and wrote the Constitution
3. Annapolis guided the new nation from war to peace by accepting George Washington's 1783 resignation from the Army symbolizing the peaceful transition of power from the military to a civilian government; ratifying the Treaty of Paris in 1784, making it the first peacetime capital of the United States; and contributing to the 1785 Mount Vernon Conference that led to its hosting the 1786 Convention that called for a Constiutional Convention.
4. New York finalized the transition to a federal government from a confederal government.
The Important Legacy of the Continental Congress Period, 1774-89
- 14 men with the title of "president" before George Washington such as John Hancock, John Hanson, Samuel Huntington, John Jay and Thomas Mifflin.
- 10 buildings where the pre-Constitution Congress met such as Independence Hall, the Maryland State House and Federal Hall.
- 8 cities that hosted a variation of the Continental Congress, including Annapolis.
- 6 landmark documents: the Declaration of Independence; the Articles of Confederation--a document that provided state oversight of the national government (under the Revolution, 1774-83); the Treaty of Paris--a document that granted official recognition as a nation and ended to the Revolutionary War with Great Britain and the Treaty of Paris Proclamation--a document that secured an orderly transition from War to Peace (under the post-war Transition, 1783-86); and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (products of the Constitutional Convention and its aftermath, 1787-89).
- 3 variations: the first and second Continental Congresses (1774-81) and what some call the "Confederation Congress" (1781-89), but was officially named The United States in Congress Assembled.
- 1 chamber that produced the likes of John Adams, Samuel Adams, Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, William Paca and George Washington.
No national center for research, analysis or discussion.
You can change that by joining the Annapolis Continental Congress Society in its effort to create a National Continental Congress Center in Annapolis, Maryland. Your donation will help pay for the 2013 Continental Congress Festival: "Prelude to Philadelphia: The 1786 Annapolis Convention," September 11-14 when for four days the Masonic Lodge in Annapolis will become the National Continental Congress Center and from this event we hope to create popular support for a national home for the nation's "First Form of Government."
TWO INSTITUTIONS IN TWO CITIES TELLING ONE STORY:
HOW THE UNITED STATES BECAME AMERICA
HOW THE UNITED STATES BECAME AMERICA