First Continental Congress

When settlers arrived to the nation which would become the United States of America, colonies were governed by British colonial rule, which was carried out by governors for each colony appointed by the English crown. By 1774, each colony had established a Provincial Congress, or an equivalent governmental institution, to govern itself, but the colonies still abided under crown rule.
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power of that period. The Seven Year war was massively expensive for Great Britain and had drained the economic resources of the kingdom. In 1774, to raise revenue, the British
Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase the amount of tax collected from the colonies. These measures, which we refer to today as the Intolerable Acts, angered the colonists.
The first of the Intolerable Acts was the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston to all colonists until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid. The second, the Massachusetts Government Act, gave the British government total control of town meetings, taking all decisions out of the hands of the colonists. The third, the Administration of Justice Act, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America and the fourth, the Quartering Act required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand.
Many colonists viewed the acts as an iniquitous violation of their rights, and in 1774 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania they organized the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest.
It is historically accurate to point out that the Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, the exception being the Province of Georgia, which was hoping for British assistance with Indian problems on its frontier. [1] The congress met to discuss what their options were and to draft a petition to King George III. This petition (which would become known as the Olive Branch Petition) appealed directly to the king and expressed hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.
The petition was undermined however, due to a confiscated letter of John Adams. John Adams wrote a letter to a friend expressing his discontent with the Olive Branch Petition. He wrote war was inevitable and he thought the Colonies should have already raised a navy and captured British officials. This confiscated letter arrived in Great Britain at about the same time as the Olive Branch petition. The British used Adams' letter to claim that the Olive Branch Petition was
insincere.[2]
In August 1775 the colonies were formally declared in rebellion by the Proclamation of Rebellion, and the petition was rejected de facto, although not having been received by the king before declaring the colonists traitors.[3] Richard Penn and Arthur Lee were dispatched by Congress to carry the petition to London, where, on August 21, they provided Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, with a copy. However, the King refused to see Penn and Lee or to look at the petition, which in his view originated from an illegal and illegitimate assembly of rebellious colonists [4]
On August 23rd 1775, King George III having grown tired of the discontent of the colonists issued a Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, declaring the colonies to be in a state of rebellion and ordering "all our officers . . . and all our obedient and loyal subjects, to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion."[5] The proclamation issued by the king brought forth the American Revolutionary War
The first Continental Congress had already established that a second Congress be formed in the event that the Olive branch Petition failed and thus on May 10, 1775 delegates from the thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Second Congress quickly got to work managing the war effort and gradually moving toward complete independence. A resolution of independence passed the Philadelphia Convention on July 2, 1776 and on July 4th, 1776 the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence drafted by thirty-three year old Thomas Jefferson.
During this time period the Congress knew that it would need its own system of laws now that it no longer was going to be under English rule and from this the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were formed and completed in early 1781. These new articles provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental Congress. It allowed them to direct the American Revolutionary war, conduct diplomacy with other nations and form treaties. Although the Articles were a step in the right direction it was quickly established that the government it formed was too weak. One of the major problems with the Articles is that it did not create any revenue.
On March 4, 1789, the Articles were replaced with the U.S. Constitution. The new Constitution provided for a much stronger national government with a chief executive (the president), courts, and importantly, taxing powers. It also the supreme law of the United States of America and all laws must follow in it. (note: The bill of rights was later added as amendments)
The Constitution of the United States starts by stating the following; “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” [6] The words “We the People” are powerful, by stating this the Constitution is declaring that the government is comprised of its own citizens and that the people, choose to grant the powers of government and were not ruled by one man alone.
The Constitution also spelled out the creation of a legal system for the United States. Article I of the United States Constitution describes the Congress, which is the legislative branch of the federal government. Article I, section I of the United States Constitution reads, "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."[6] The legislative branch has the sole authority to enact legislation (the act of making or enacting laws), declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, ratify treaties, and create administrative agencies. The legislative branch also has substantial investigative powers.
Article II of the United States Constitution explains the creation of the executive branch of the United States Government which is headed by the President of the United States. The executive branch proposes statutes, signs or vetoes statutes, overseas administrative agencies and issues executive orders. It also explains that the President is the commander in chief of our armed forces.
Article III, Section I establishes the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts as created by Congress. It is the job of the judicial branch to interpret statutes, create (limited) federal common law, review the constitutionality of statues and other legal acts. Article III, Section II lays out the judicial powers, jurisdiction and demands trial by jury in all criminal cases (with the exception of impeachment) it reads; “The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;—between a State and Citizens of another State;—between Citizens of different States;—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects”[6] This is important because the Constitution is directly stating where the judicial branch has authority.
The framers of the United States Constitution sought to protect the nation against tyranny by incorporating separation of powers. Separation of powers was first developed in ancient Greece and divides each branch (Legislative, Executive and Judicial) with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility, so that no branch has more power than the other branches. An example of this would be the Legislative branch declaring legislation brought forth by the executive branch constitutionally void. Another example would be the president vetoing legislation brought forth by congress. By having these “Checks and balances” it permits for a system based regulation that allows one branch to limit another and creates a fair and balanced government.
Law has been derived from four primary sources;
Common law: The body of English law that was adopted as the law of the American colonies.
The common law of England was one of the three main historical sources of English law. The other two were legislation and equity. The common law evolved from custom and was the body of law created and administrated by the king’s courts.[7]
Statutory law: The body of law derived from statues rather than from constitutions or judicial decisions – Also termed statute law; legislative law; ordinary law [7] This is the written law established by enactments expressing the will of the legislature and is voted on by congress and signed into law by the executive branch (Be it the President of the United States or a Governor of a State)
Administrative law: The law governing the organization and operation of administrative agencies (including executive and independent agencies) and the relations of administrative agencies with the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and the public. Administrative law is divided into three parts: (1) the statutes endowing agencies with powers establishing rules of substantive law relating to those powers; (2) the body of the agency-made law, consisting of administrative rules, regulations, reports, or opinions containing findings of fact, and orders; and (3) the legal principles governing the acts of public agents when those conflict with private rights.
[7]
Constitutional law: (1) The body of law deriving from the United States Constitution and dealing primarily with governmental powers, civil rights, and civil liberties. (2) The field of law dealing with aspects of constitutional provisions, such as restrictions on government powers and guarantees of rights.
The four functions of law and examples of each:
Peacekeeping – Peacekeeping at the Occupy Wall Street movement. The law provides that people are allowed to peacefully protest; the law may also enforce rules to keep protestors from becoming destructive. So the law both fulfills and restricts its own function.
Checking government power and promoting personal freedom - Occupy Wall Street is a good example of this function too. The protestors were fighting against government and corporate corruption. The three branches of government also have checks on one another via the checks and balances system.
Promoting social justice- The fight for gay rights and recognition of gay marriages is a promotion of social justice. The government currently restricts many rights from gay people so it this way it does not fulfill its purpose, although that is beginning to change.
Protecting the environment- There are government agencies like the EPA that fulfill this purpose that monitor pollution and protect our waters. There is also environment in a larger sense to mean culture and community. Government supports this function through social welfare programs and community activism.

Society influences laws and case decisions on an almost daily basis. For example, one can view the United States Presidential elections. One party favors more of a socialized health care system, another party favors private health insurance programs. The healthcare reform bill has already gone through all the checks and balances, from the executive branch who introduced it to congress, to congress who voted an approved the bill, back to the executive office who signed the bill into law and to the legislative branch when the law was appealed. Ultimately the bill was deemed constitutional and valid but with the election the bill could be repealed. Society and its beliefs are always an influence and I feel that it is positive. Society’s beliefs evolve with time and our laws need to adapt to the changes.