In May 1775, delegates formed which congress where they drafted a Declaration of Causes explaining the colonies' rebellion?

• A. First Continental Congress
• B. Continental Congress
• C. Second Continental Congress
• D. Constitutional Convention

Answer: (C)

After fighting broke out, the colonies needed a central body to coordinate responses across all colonies. They formed the Second Continental Congress in May 1775 in Philadelphia. This congress acted as the wartime government and took on major tasks, including explaining why the colonies were rebelling by drafting a document known as the Declaration of Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms. The timing and purpose—calling together a continental assembly and justifying taking up arms—point to the Second Continental Congress as the correct identification. The First Continental Congress was in 1774, and the Constitutional Convention was in 1787, so the May 1775 meeting aligns with the Second Continental Congress.