Committees of Safety grew from the Committees of Correspondence, which were organized before the American-Revolution to establish, through the writing of letters, an underground network of communication among Patriot leaders in the Thirteen Colonies. The committees were instrumental in setting up the First Continental Congress, which convened in Philadelphia in September and October 1774.
Authorized by the First Continental Congress in late 1774 to enforce the Articles of Association, local leaders of these committees largely determined their structure and operation.
Committees of Safety were executive bodies that governed during adjournments of, were created by, and derived their authority from, provincial assemblies or congresses, like those of the New York Provincial Congress and the First Continental Congress
The Committees of Safety passed laws, handed down regulations, enacted statutes, and did other fundamental business prior to the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 and the passage of individual state constitutions.
As they assumed power to govern, however, they generally chose to observe rough legal procedures, warning and shaming enemies rather than killing them. Many of the men that had served on their individual states’ Committees of safety were later delegates for the Continental Congress.
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.
An upcoming online seminar explores how ordinary Americans conceived of the local committees of safety, which served as the backbone of the revolutionary movement in 1774 and 1775.
Donald F. Johnson of North Dakota State University will present “Conceiving the Committee of Safety in Revolutionary America,” as a hybrid in-person and virtual event on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, from 5 until 6:15 pm ET.
Illustration: The Boston Committee of Correspondence, which usually gathered at the Liberty Tree in Boston Common.
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