Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We’re back with the second series in our rotating exhibition, #ArchivesRoadToRevolution!
Road to Revolution features a selection of records that document major milestones in the journey from colonial resistance to American independence. The exhibit’s second selection of records, First Continental Congress, focuses on the delegates' aim of defending colonial rights in the British Empire.
The First Continental Congress believed that American economic unity was essential to forcing a repeal of the Coercive Acts. On October 20, 1774, the delegates signed the Articles of Association, a nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption agreement (today known as a boycott).
Commonly known as the Continental Association, the articles directed colonists to cease trade with Great Britain and “wholly discontinue the slave trade.” To apply maximum pressure on the British economy and Parliament, the articles also called for establishing local committees to enforce the Continental Association throughout the colonies. The policy was highly effective; in the first six months of 1775, British imports to America fell from £3 million to £220,000.
***
The Road to Revolution exhibition is part of #Declaration250, the National Archives’ celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026 (@250america). Follow along with #ArchivesRoadToRevolution.
Road to Revolution is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation (@archivesfdn) through the generous support of Comcast Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Procter & Gamble.
***
📜: Articles of Association (Continental Association), October 20, 1774. Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention
We’re back with the second series in our rotating exhibition, #ArchivesRoadToRevolution!
Road to Revolution features a selection of records that document major milestones in the journey from colonial resistance to American independence. The exhibit’s second selection of records, First Continental Congress, focuses on the delegates' aim of defending colonial rights in the British Empire.
The First Continental Congress believed that American economic unity was essential to forcing a repeal of the Coercive Acts. On October 20, 1774, the delegates signed the Articles of Association, a nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption agreement (today known as a boycott).
Commonly known as the Continental Association, the articles directed colonists to cease trade with Great Britain and “wholly discontinue the slave trade.” To apply maximum pressure on the British economy and Parliament, the articles also called for establishing local committees to enforce the Continental Association throughout the colonies. The policy was highly effective; in the first six months of 1775, British imports to America fell from £3 million to £220,000.
***
The Road to Revolution exhibition is part of #Declaration250, the National Archives’ celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026 (@250america). Follow along with #ArchivesRoadToRevolution.
Road to Revolution is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation (@archivesfdn) through the generous support of Comcast Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Procter & Gamble.
***
📜: Articles of Association (Continental Association), October 20, 1774. Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention
