September 5, 1774

Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia. The place where twelve of the thirteen colonies would meet to present unified action against the recent British abuses of power. Thirteen wished all thirteen colonies had sent delegates, but he understood Georgia's reason for not coming. They had a war with the Indians to deal with and couldn't risk losing British support if they needed it.

Thirteen pushed the thoughts of Georgia and their troubles out of his mind. He wasn't here to think about Georgia's troubles. Thirteen was here to help the delegates give a unified response to the British. It was a bit nerve-wracking. This is the first time the colonies are genuinely going to unite on an issue. This hadn't happened before, and Thirteen was nervous about how it would turn out.

'It'll be fine.'

'Most of the colonies have the same goals in the end. Regardless of what debates happen, we still have a common goal.'

'But the Albany Plan of Union failed. What if this fails too?'

Thirteen shook the negative thoughts out of his head. Now wasn't the time to be dealing with them. He had a job to do. Thirteen walked into the building, looking around to see if he recognized anyone besides the Massachusetts delegates he had met in Boston.

Thirteen saw Colonel Washington out of the corner of his eye and turned toward him. There was at least one familiar face, which helped Thirteen's anxiety slightly. Thirteen walked into the meeting room and stood in the back. The seats were organized by colony, and since Thirteen was all the colonies, he didn't pick one to sit in.

Standing in the back also let him observe the Continental Congress better. Thirteen wanted to be able to see everything that was going on.

'I hope this doesn't end badly...'

Thirteen watched as everyone began making their way to their seats and felt his nervousness grow. He pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to be nervous. Thirteen had things to take care of. Hopefully, whatever conclusion this Congress made, his father and England listened to what Thirteen's people had to say.

Hopefully, his people could find something to agree on.

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It was the second day of the Congress, and they were already lost on what to do. No one seemed to know where to start, and Thirteen saw several delegates continuing to look back at him. It made Thirteen feel weird. He's not used to his presence being a big deal to people. After all, he was a colony, not a world power like Britain.

Suddenly, a man stood up and began speaking. He talked about the wrongs Thirteen's people have suffered because of the acts of the Parliament. He said that all the governments in America were dissolved and that the colonies were in a state of nature.

He said this Congress was the first of a long series of Congresses. He talked about how he was worried the decisions here would form a precedent. He argued for representation according to population.

"What about the smaller colonies? If representation is according to population, the larger colonies can project their influence, while the smaller colonies will lose their voice." Someone countered.

His response was something that Thirteen knew he would never forget.

"British oppression has effaced the boundaries of the several colonies; the distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian but an American."

Thirteen smiled at that. That line was the most important thing this man had said. It was a call to unite, not to let the colony someone came from deny them the ability to get along with the other American colonies.

Thirteen felt divided over everything. That gave him hope that maybe someday he would be able to represent the colonies in agreement, united, for once.

"Who was that?" Thirteen asked the delegate closest to me.

"Patrick Henry, from Virginia."

——————————————

The Congress has achieved two things so far. They made Peyton Randolph the President of the Congress and endorsed the Suffolk Resolves.

The Suffolk Resolves was a big step, and Thirteen knew it would infuriate his father and England. It ordered his people not to obey the Intolerable Acts, not to import British goods, and to raise a militia.

'We should join the militia!'

'We should stay here and help our people decide.'

That last point was going to piss England and Britain off the most. But they were bringing soldiers into Thirteen's land. Soldiers who have hurt him and his people, even if it was accidentally. They couldn't let themselves be pushed around by his father's army.

He brought an army into Thirteen's land. Thirteen was going to make sure his people could fight back if needed. After Golden Hill, after Boston? Thirteen's people needed to be able to fight back.

His father may not like it, but sometimes the most necessary actions aren't well-liked.

'He would use that argument against us to argue why these acts are supposedly necessary.'

Thirteen pushed that thought out of his mind.

Now, the Congress was trying to figure out the Continental Association, a plan to stop British imports by December and exports to Thirteen's father by September the following year. They wanted it enforced by the colony and local officials. The problem was that many of his people were smugglers, and Thirteen knew some wouldn't listen.

Besides, some delegates thought that the entire Continental Association would be impractical if Congress didn't send Thirteen's father our demands and a plan to redress the issues that had arisen between them. Some delegates, like Colonel Washington, didn't believe petitioning was useful. Nevertheless, they all wanted peace, and petitioning was the best tool.

Then there was Virginia, which was doing everything it could to delay the issue of banning exports to Britain.

'We need to take the farmers into account! This could hurt them! We cannot rush into these decisions. These decisions hold the future of our colonies. They are too important to rush.'

All this indecision and arguments had led Thirteen to the painful situation he was in right now.

Thirteen held his head in his hands as his thoughts battled the two opinions. It made his head pound, and he gritted his teeth before removing his head from his hands and facing the ongoing debate. He knew this would happen, so He couldn't let it affect him this badly.

But still...the conflicting opinions made his head hurt like nothing else. Thirteen hated moments like this when he could not agree with himself. He supposed it was the downside to representing many colonies instead of just one. Sometimes, he wished he had just remained Virginia, and the other colonies had their own personifications. That would have made everything easier.

"We need to delay the stoppage of British imports! Otherwise, we risk leaving our farmers in bad situations. To protect our farmers, we must do this!" Edmund Pendleton, a Virginian delegate, argued.

"We need to take action! The longer we wait, the more acts the Parliament could unfairly place on us! We need action!" Silas Deane, a Connecticut delegate, argued back.

'But what about our farmers? We cannot help our people if we rush into things without thinking it through!'

"We need to stop arguing endlessly." Thirteen sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Some of you say that the Continental Association won't work unless we have demands and a plan of redress. Why don't we do that? This debate has gotten us nowhere."

'That seems like a good plan of action. This debate is just annoying at this point.'

"I agree with British America." A Maryland delegate said.

"Thirteen Colonies. British America refers to me, my siblings, my cousin, and any other colonies my Father has on the continent." Thirteen said, correcting him.

"Apologies, but he's right. If we aren't going to go anywhere with this discussion, then let's address the other half of the issues involving the Continental Association. That way, we get something done," the delegate said.

"Let's hold a vote on where we should move on to creating a list of demands and plan of redress or continue the debate on whether the date for the stoppage of exports to Great Britain shall begin." Peyton Randolph said.

Thirteen really hoped they voted to move on. Hopefully, that would help with his headache, although he knew the Continental Congress was probably not what was causing it. That didn't mean they made it any better.

———————————————

The Grand Committee. Created by Congress to work on coming up with a list of rights, grievances, and demands.

Debate had stalled on other issues as Congress debated what would be included in this list. Every colony had a different option, which made this, just like everything else, be drawn out.

It was annoying, but everyone was getting a say, which was important. If they didn't give every colony a say, they'd be just as bad as Parliament. And Thirteen wasn't interested in being like Parliament. They had been making progress, but one issue was causing a lot of debate.

"I know that we have been debating over who gets the right to regulate trade, but we must release a statement that clarifies Great Britain's right to regulate trade." Joseph Galloway, from Pennsylvania, said.

"We cannot give the British explicit rights to trade!" John Adams argued back. Many other delegates agreed with John Adams, but many stubborn people still argued against them.

'Why not?'

'These acts, that's why! They have not given us a reason to trust them to control their trade!'

"I have a plan that will help us. A plan of union!" Joseph Galloway continued, ignoring John Adams. Thirteen raised an eyebrow at that.

'Union? Between the colonies?'

"Between who?" Thirteen asked.

"Great Britain and us." Joseph Galloway said.

'What?'

'Is he trying to make us lose any form of government?'

'We haven't even heard the plan yet! We need to hear him out before we start jumping to conclusions.'

"Are you-" John Adams began before Thirteen cut him off.

"Mr. John Adams, we should at least hear him out. You cannot object to something because you think it sounds bad. Object to something that you know is bad." Thirteen said. John Adams seemed to want to argue, but he sat down and let Galloway continue.

"My plan would have a Colonial Parliament that would work hand-in-hand with Britain's Parliament. The King would appoint delegates for a three-year term. This would ensure that we get representation and allow the Parliament to still have a say in our taxes and governance," Joseph Galloway explained.

'The King, or the current monarch, can still pick people who agree with him. Yes, we get representation, but we don't get to pick the representation.'

'It's a good plan, though. I think it could appeal to both sides and give them what they want.'

"If the King chooses the delegates, is that representation?" Asked Robert Treat Paine, a Massachusetts delegate, sparking another debate about the plan. Thirteen prepared for his headache to worsen and then listened to the discussion.

——————————————

6-5. Galloway's Plan of Union was defeated in a 6-5 vote. After that, the Congress decided to pause the debate on Britain's ability to regulate trade and focus on the Continental Association.

Which resulted in more debate. Eventually, they could agree on everything involving the Continental Association before returning to the issue of who should regulate trade.

Thankfully, they reached another agreement and accepted that they would not say who they thought should regulate trade.

'Because that definitely won't bite us in the ass later.'

"And lastly, if our grievances are not addressed satisfactorily by next year, we will meet again and invite delegates from Quebec, Saint John's Island, Nova Scotia, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida to join us." Henry Middleton, the new president, said.

'Georgia better join us next time. If that colony is going to be represented by the Thirteen Colonies, it should join the Thirteen Colonies when the rest of them do something.'

'Georgia had their reasons, just as all the other colonies did.'

"I will personally invite my siblings and cousin, St. John's Island, and East Florida, and hopefully, by representing Georgia alongside your colonies, they can be convinced to join us," Thirteen said, standing up.

"I hope so as well. Convincing the British to listen would be much easier if more of British America joined us," a delegate said, although Thirteen wasn't sure which one.

"It would. Thank you all for doing this for my people." Thirteen said before leaving the room. He wanted to head back to Boston, which seemed to be where everything was happening, but he decided not to. He needed to convince Georgia to join them.

Hopefully, they would.