Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (Adapted and Abridged)

Since Parliament claims the right to make laws for America, it has taxed us without consent, created unlawful courts, and gave special courts more power to try colonists without a jury. It has made judges dependent on the Crown, kept standing armies in peace, and declared that colonists may be sent to England for trial.

Recently, Parliament passed unjust laws that punished Boston, changed the Massachusetts government, and protected British officials from justice. These acts are unjust and threaten American liberty. Since our petitions were ignored and our assemblies were dissolved, we, the representatives of the colonies, are meeting in Congress to declare our rights and liberties.

We are entitled to life, liberty, and property.
1. Our ancestors, when they settled these colonies, retained all rights of free-born Englishmen.
2. Emigration to America did not cause us to forfeit these rights.
3. We have the right to participate in our own legislatures, and to tax ourselves through our elected representatives.
4. We are entitled to trial by jury in all cases.
5. We have the right to the benefit of English laws that suit our local circumstances.
6. We are entitled to the privileges granted to us by royal charters and colonial laws.
7. We have the right to assemble peacefully, to consult for the public good, and to petition the King for redress of grievances.
8. A standing army in times of peace, kept without the consent of the colonial legislature, is unlawful.
9. Legislative power in the colonies must remain independent of councils appointed by the Crown.

We declare that the following Acts of Parliament violate our rights and liberties and must be repealed:

• The acts that impose taxes on us without our consent.
• The acts that deny us trial by jury.
• The laws known as the Coercive, or Intolerable Acts, which close Boston’s port, alter Massachusetts’ government, and shelter officials from justice.
• The law that forces colonists to house British troops.
• The Quebec Act, which establishes arbitrary government in Canada, threatening the liberties of the neighboring colonies.

We cannot follow these laws, so we have resolved upon the following peaceful actions:

1. To unite in a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation agreement.
2. To prepare an address explaining our position.
3. To send a petition to the king, respectfully seeking the restoration of our rights.

Editor’s note: This document has been adapted and shortened from its original version to make it easier to read and understand. Some language has been updated, and parts of the text have been removed so you can focus on the most important ideas without changing the meaning of the original source.