<P> The First Continental Congress was a meeting of representatives of twelve of Great Britain's seventeen North American colonies, in the autumn of 1774 . The Continental Congress sent a list of grievances to King George III . When the King failed to respond, and the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775, the Second Continental Congress was convened--this time with thirteen colonies in attendance . A year later, on 4 July 1776, the Continental Congress declared the thirteen colonies free and independent states, referring to them as the "united States of America ." This was not a formal name, however, so "united" was not capitalized in the Declaration of Independence, "States" being capitalized only because all nouns were capitalized in English before the Industrial Revolution . The Second Continental Congress continued in office while the War for Independence continued, producing the Articles of Confederation--the country's first constitution--in 1777, which was ratified by all of the states by 1781 . </P> <P> Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a unicameral body in which each state was equally represented, and in which each state had a veto over most action . States could, and did, ignore what did pass . The ineffectiveness of the federal government under the Articles led Congress to summon the Convention of 1787 . </P> <P> One of the most divisive issues facing the Convention was the structure of Congress . James Madison's Virginia Plan called for a bicameral Congress; the lower house would be elected directly by the people, and the upper house would be elected by the lower house . The plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population . The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states . Eventually, a compromise, known as the Connecticut Compromise or the Great Compromise was reached; one house of Congress (the House of Representatives) would provide proportional representation, whereas the other (the Senate) would provide equal representation . The Constitution was ratified by the end of 1788, and its full implementation was set for March 4, 1789 . The House began work on April 1, 1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time . Frederick Muhlenberg, a Pennsylvania Lutheran minister and politician, was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives . </P> <P> The early 19th century was marked by frequent clashes between the House of Representatives and the Senate . For most of the first half of the 19th century, a balance between the free North and the slaveholding South existed in the Senate, as the numbers of free and slave states were equal . However, since the North was much more populous than the South, it dominated the House of Representatives . In 1825, new Speaker of the House Henry Clay also officially announced that he and his followers would separate from Andrew Jackson and form the National Republican Party . Clay lost to Jackson in the 1832 presidential election and moved to the Senate . </P>

What states plan created the house of representatives