1
The First Continental Congress was held in September 1774 and in attendance were various colonial representatives. There are some factors like great leadership, and declaration of human rights favored unity while mistrust and tension hindered integration.
Of the factors that facilitated the unity is the great leadership and excellent guidance by the various representatives that included great leader like George Washington and John Adams among others, who were known for their outstanding debating and leadership capabilities. Also, the declaration of rights was a significant step toward the realization of the unity, which was in favor of peaceful protests as well as guaranteeing the right to life, liberty, property, and establishment of own tax policies in the colonies. After that, some acts and resolutions were made that were both friendly and acceptable among the various groups of people like the Patriots and loyalists. The fact that each colony debated the issues indecently served as a booster towards the feeling of belonging and identifying themselves with the resolutions made, and they could readily cooperate. The fact that tensions used were there between the various groups was a significant hindrance as it widened the gap of mistrust.
Conversely, there existed a lot of hindrances towards achieving the unity. There was a lot of mistrust and discomfort between the colonies due to their independent debates in their own environments. The representatives also had differing views regarding the resolutions arrived at the meetings, while other preferred peaceful protest, other colonies preferred the defensive and possibly violent approach towards the matters at hand.
In conclusion, the first Continental Congress was a success as it helped in the process of unity because of the strong leadership and declaration of human rights. However, lack of trust frustrated the efforts to unity.
References
Bordewich, F. M. (2017). The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government. Simon and Schuster.
Karsch, C. G. (2013). “The First Continental Congress: A Dangerous Journey Begins. Carpenters’ Hall, US History. Org, accessed July, 14.
2
The Second Continental Congress of 1775 had one of the tasks being the creation of a continental military and coming up with a resolution on the path toward the realization of independence.
The Congress voted for the Creation of the Continental Army from the various military units around the Boston region. They tend appointed George Washington as the Commanding General of the Army. The creation of the continental military unit was part of the strategy towards the American Revolution. The Congress after meeting, designed and approved the Declaration of Causes that gave a clear outline of the rationale and all the necessities under which arms could be taken in the Thirteen Colonies. They also resolved on obtaining military equipment and strengthening the army.
On designing the paths toward the achievement of independence, the Second Continental Congress decided to work by reconciliation, appointing envoys and making formal treaties with others. For example, they did send Olive Branch Petition to the British Crown as an attempt to seek reconciliation as well as sending an ambassador to France. They did also open the American ports in showing their rebelliousness to the British Navigation Acts.
The Continental Congress had no legal mandate, but it did just function like a national government. It borrowed finances from Europe, issues paper money and also disbursed funds. However, there were frequent frustrations by the states in remitting the finances, supplies and the troops requested by the Continental Congress for purposes of supporting the war efforts.
Thus the Second Continental Congress was a success towards the realization of Continental unity because of the military creation and designing the paths towards independence.
References
Washington, G., & Army, C. (2014). The American Revolution: 1775-1783. Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown.
3
Different parties exist because of the differences in the beliefs and principles. There were remarkable differences between the federalist and Republicans in the 1800s regarding their policies and membership.
The federalist political party had most of its members being the rich merchants and entrepreneurs, legal experts and other professionals. They held the belief that the wealthy and those of higher status had the rights to rule over the nation, and the commoners should have the least representation. They believed in a strong central government under one person because they strongly believed that only a strong person could rule the nation.
The Republican Party comprised of the small business people, laborers, and farmers. They believed that the common made a strong nation and instead of having a strong federal government, there is need of having strong states. While the federalist favored the development of industrial sector of the nation, the Republicans need the states to focus on developing agricultural sector.
Regarding constitution, the Federalists favored an interpretation of the constitution not to be strict and anything not stated and can be understood from the constitution should be applied. The Republicans believed in the strict interpretation of the constitution; implied meanings had no place in the constitution.
Summing it up, there were significant differences among the federalists and the Republican parties on their policies, mainly shaped by their membership and beliefs. These were greatly influenced by their social status, their economic position in the society and the desire to have control over others.
References
Bradford, M. E. (2017). A better guide than reason: Federalists and anti-federalists. Routledge.
Wilson, J. G. (2018). The Struggle Over the Form, Character, and Direction of the New Empire. In The Imperial Republic(pp. 97-122). Routledge.