The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.

The Congress met from 1774 to 1789 in three incarnations. The first call for a convention was made over issues of mounting taxation without representation in Parliament and because of the British blockade. Though at first somewhat divided on issues concerning independence and a break from Crown rule, the new Congress would come to issue a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution, and proclaim the name United States of America as the name of the new nation. It would establish a Continental Army and also have to endure a war with Britain, before fruition of an independent Constitutional government was fully realized among the American colonies.

The First Continental Congress, which met briefly in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from September 5, to October 26, in 1774 and consisted of fifty-six delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States of America. The delegates which included George Washington, then a colonel of the Virginia volunteers, Patrick Henry, and John Adams, were elected by their respective colonial assemblies. Other notable delegates included Samuel Adams from Massachusetts Bay, and Joseph Galloway and John Dickinson from Pennsylvania.

John Adams (October 30, 1735 (O.S. October 19, 1735)  – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, and the second President of the United States (1797–1801). He was also a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, political theorist, and a leading champion of independence in 1776. Hailing from New England, Adams, a prominent lawyer and public figure in Boston, was highly educated and represented Enlightenment values promoting republicanism. A Federalist, he was highly influential and one of the key Founding Fathers of the United States.

Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence and assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence. As a diplomat in Europe, he was a major negotiator of the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and chiefly responsible for obtaining important loans from Amsterdam bankers. A political theorist and historian, Adams largely wrote the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which soon after ended slavery in Massachusetts, but was in Europe when the federal Constitution was drafted on similar principles later in the decade. One of his greatest roles was as a judge of character: in 1775, he nominated George Washington to be commander-in-chief, and 25 years later nominated John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the United States.

Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 – January 23, 1800) was an American politician and youngest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th Governor of South Carolina.

Like his eldest brother John Rutledge, Edward was born in Charleston. He was the youngest of seven children (5 sons and 2 daughters) born to Dr. John Rutledge and Sarah Hext in 1749. He studied law at Oxford University and was admitted to the English bar (Middle Temple), and returned to Charleston to practice. He was married, on March 1, 1774, Henrietta Middleton (November 17, 1750 – April 22, 1792), daughter of Henry Middleton. The couple had three children;

Rutledge had a successful law practice with his partner, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. He became a leading citizen of Charleston, and owned more than 50 slaves.

Along with his brother John, Rutledge represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress. He worked to have African Americans expelled from the Continental Army. Although a firm supporter of colonial rights, he (as a delegate) was instructed initially to oppose Lee's Resolution of independence; South Carolina's leaders were unsure that the time was "ripe." By early July, 1776, he was instructed to vote in favor. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no evidence that he opposed the anti-slavery clause in the Declaration. At age 26 he was the youngest to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Alexander Rose (died 1720) was a Scottish academic, minister and bishop of the 17th and early 18th century. He was a Church of Scotland minister before becoming Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow and Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews. He rose to become Bishop of Moray and then Bishop of Edinburgh. He was responsible for failing to convince King William III of England that the Scottish bishops could be trusted, leading to the abolition of Episcopacy in Scotland. Rose continued as a nonjuring bishop, eventually becoming leader of the informal and embryonic Scottish Episcopal Church.

Alexander was born in either 1645 or 1646, a year that can be calculated because we know that he was 74 years old at his death in March 1720. The Rose [Ross] family originally came from Kilravock near Inverness. His father had been Prior of Monymusk. He entered the University of Aberdeen for a Master of Arts, but moved to the University of Glasgow to study divinity under Dr. Gilbert Burnet, later Bishop of Salisbury.

Barry Josephson (born April 2, 1956) is an American film producer and former music manager.

Josephson graduated from American University, Washington DC in 1978 and is an active member of the American University School of Communication  Alumni program. In 1991, Josephson was the Vice President of Production for Columbia Pictures and remained at the studio for six years where he served last as President of Production. He brought with him experience in the entertainment world ranging from client management to film, TV and music production. During his tenure at Columbia, Josephson was responsible for such hits as In the Line of Fire (1993), Bad Boys (1995), Men in Black, Air Force One, The Fifth Element, and Anaconda (all 1997).

Josephson began his career in entertainment at Landers/Roberts Productions, overseeing the music division's interest in feature film and television programming and there was involved with the popular sequel, Death Wish II (1981). Josephson later worked for Gallin/Morey & Associates, managing the careers of such performers as Paula Abdul, Patti Labelle, Morris Day, and Whoopi Goldberg (including production work on her Grammy-winning album "Direct from Broadway"). During this time, Josephson also helped found Sandollar Films, whose product has included several of Dolly Parton's made-for-TV movies and specials; Tidy Endings, an HBO adaptation of Harvey Fierstein's play, Safe Sex; and such feature films as Gross Anatomy and True Identity (both 1989). Before moving to Columbia, Josephson worked with Joel Silver of Silver Pictures on Die Hard 2 and Predator 2 (both 1990), earned executive producer credit on both Ricochet and The Last Boy Scout (both 1991), and oversaw production of 14 episodes of the HBO series, Tales from the Crypt.