The Second Continental Congress assumed the normal functions of a government, appointing ambassadors, issuing paper currency, raising the Continental Army through conscription, and appointing generals to lead the army. The Second Continental Congress, guided by Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, swore loyalty to the Crown and requested tax reforms in the Olive Branch Petition. This petition was a final effort by the Congress to avoid war with Great Britain. The First Continental Congress organized a boycott of British goods. The Second Continental Congress declared independence from Britain. During the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress acted as the national government, and governed the colonies during war. ... The Second Congress managed the colonial war effort, financing the war with borrowed funds and without the support of taxes; states were asked to contribute men, supplies, and funds. Before that Second Continental Congress assembled in the Pennsylvania State House, hostilities had already broken out between Americans and British troops at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. New members of the Second Congress included Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.