2. Historical development: Committees of correspondence

Historical developments and consequences

Committees exchanged reports about British policy and coordinated political responses across colonies. The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in September 1774.

Information networks helped disparate colonies act collectively, although loyalists and neutral colonists disagreed with resistance.

Original historical article · Authorities & decisions

Samuel Adams helped organize Boston’s committee of correspondence in 1772. Virginia’s House of Burgesses established an intercolonial correspondence committee in 1773. These networks circulated accounts of imperial policies and coordinated resistance.