There were several events that prompted this meeting, but the most important was the passage of the "Intolerable Acts" when levied taxes on the Colonists and eventually led to the outbreak of war.
The First Continental Congress was formed in response to the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, passed by the British Parliament in 1774 with the aim of punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. On September 5, 1774, delegates from twelve of the Thirteen American Colonies met in Philadelphia and issued the Suffolk Resolves, a declaration in which they stated they would boycott imported goods from Britain unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed. After stating this measure, the First Continental Congress disbanded on October 26, 1774.
