W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2009 Fifty gentlemen total strangers: A portrait of the First Continental Congress Karen Northrop Barzilay College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Barzilay, Karen Northrop, "Fifty gentlemen total strangers: A portrait of the First Continental Congress" (2009). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623537. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-61q6-k890 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Fifty Gentlemen Total Strangers: A Portrait of the First Continental Congress Karen Northrop Barzilay Needham, Massachusetts Master of Arts, College of William and Mary, 1998 Bachelor of Arts, Skidmore College, 1996 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy American Studies Program The College of William and Mary January 2009 © 2009 Karen Northrop Barzilay APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ~ilayd Approved by the Committee, October, 2008 Commd ee Chair Professor Robert A Gross, History and American Studies University of Connecticut Professor Ronald Hoffman, History Director, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture The College of William and Mary Associate Professor Karin Wuff, History and encan Studres The College of William and Mary ABSTRACT PAGE When news of the Coercive Acts reached the mainland colonies ofBritish North America in May 177 4, there was no such thing as a Continental Congress.