396 Carpenters’ Hall and The First Continental Congress

“Monday, September 5, 1774. A number of the Delegates chosen and appointed by the Several Colonies and Provinces in North America to meet and hold a Congress at Philadelphia assembled at the Carpenters’ Hall.”

That statement begins the Journals of the Continental Congress, the official meeting minutes of the First and Second Continental Congresses. Between September 1774 and March 1789, the congressmen filled 34-printed volumes worth of entries.

Join Michael Norris, the Executive Director of the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, for a tour of Carpenters’ Hall, the meeting place of the First Continental Congress, and discover more about this historic building and the historic work of the First Continental Congress.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.

Episode Summary

Michael Norris is the Executive Director of the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia. As part of his responsibilities, Michael oversees the Company’s meeting hall, Carpenters’ Hall, which has served as an incubator of early Philadelphia’s cultural community and as the home of the First Continental Congress.

During our exploration of Carpenters’ Hall, Michael reveals the origins of the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia and why early Philadelphia carpenters established this trade guild; Details about Carpenters’ Hall, its construction, and why the Carpenters’ Company rented out their meeting hall; And, information about the First Continental Congress, why it met, and what it accomplished before it adjourned on October 26, 1774.

What You’ll Discover

The Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia
Why early Americans did not replicate the guild system
Architecture of Carpenters’ Hall
Tenants of Carpenters’ Hall
Ben Franklin’s Library Company and Carpenters’ Hall
First Continental Congress and Carpenters’ Hall
The Coercive Acts of 1774
Paul Revere and the Suffolk Resolves
Economic boycott of British goods
The Continental Association
Legacy of the First Continental Congress
Meeting of the Second Continental Congress

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Sponsor Links

Complementary Episodes

Time Warp Question

What might have happened if Carpenters’ Hall had not existed? Where would the First Continental Congress have met, and would its work and outcomes have been different?