Final answer:
The First Continental Congress focused on compiling grievances against the British government and drafting a Declaration of American Rights, paving the way to the Revolutionary War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The First Continental Congress debated primarily about how to respond to the Intolerable Acts, which were a series of punitive measures imposed by the British government on the colonies. The main purpose of this gathering was to compile a list of grievances against the British government and to draft a Declaration of American Rights. These representatives from the American colonies sought to assert their rights and object to the perceived injustices, such as 'taxation without representation,' that had been levied upon them by Great Britain. The Congress was an essential step in the consolidation of colonial resistance that eventually led to the Revolutionary War.