Conceiving the Committee of Safety in Revolutionary America

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This essay explores how ordinary Americans conceived of the local committees of safety that served as the backbone of the revolutionary movement in 1774 and 1775. Authorized by the First Continental Congress in late 1774 to enforce the Articles of Association, local leaders largely determined the structure and operation of these committees. As tensions mounted and especially after war broke out in April 1775, committeemen drew on a mixture of historical inspiration, long-standing traditions of corporate governance, and contemporary legal culture to outstrip their Congressional mandate and assert de-facto revolutionary governance in communities across British North America.