The First Continental Congress.
Fifty-six delegates from twelve colonies met for the first time at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, on 5 September 1774. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was elected president and Charles Thomson of Pennsylvania, although not a delegate, was named secretary. While the Second Continental Congress, Still without an official representative from Georgia, delegates took a score of actions that amounted to the de facto assumption of the rights and responsibilities of an independent state.