<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Footnotes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> There were about 50 members of the Congress at any given time, but it was the colonies themselves that had voting privileges so there were effectively only 13 seats . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia between September 5, 1774 and October 26, 1774 . The Second Congress managed the Colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 . The Congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties such as the Olive Branch Petition . </P> <P> The Second Continental Congress came together on May 10, 1775, effectively reconvening the First Continental Congress . Many of the 56 delegates who attended the first meeting were in attendance at the second, and the delegates appointed the same president (Peyton Randolph) and secretary (Charles Thomson). Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts . Within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses; he was replaced in the Virginia delegation by Thomas Jefferson, who arrived several weeks later . Henry Middleton was elected as president to replace Randolph, but he declined . Hancock was elected president on May 24 . </P>

In what ways did the 2nd continental congress serve as the 1st national government
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