Page 74 - JM Book 9/2020

Small groups of delegates were standing outside when he arrived. He greeted those who looked his way and proceeded up the steps into the red brick building. More groups were inside. He made his way to his seat at the Virginia table in the corner.
The Assembly Room, where Congress met, was a large white-paneled room located on the east side of the Pennsylvania State House. Three tall vertical windows were located on each side of the room. John Hancock’s desk was placed on a platform in the center of the wall opposite the entry door.
The Assembly Room in the Pennsylvania State House
Delegates sat at rectangle tables covered with green cloths. The tables were arranged in rows between the windows facing the president’s desk.
As was his custom, President Hancock called the meeting to order precisely at nine o’clock. Jefferson recorded the outside temperature to be eighty-one degrees.
Hancock began by asking Secretary Thomson to read the dispatches from General Washington. The general reported that British warships had been spotted off the New York coast. Anticipating that the British army was planning
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