Episode # 12

The First (1774) and Second Congress (1775-1781) demonstrated that the colonies could cooperate beyond local interests. It was the first real step toward a continental identity, moving colonists from thinking of themselves purely as Virginians or Pennsylvanians toward thinking of themselves as Americans. The Second Congress essentially governed a nation that didn’t yet fully exist. It made war, diplomacy, and law simultaneously under enormous pressure — and held together long enough for the Revolution to succeed