The Early Political Uses of the Word Convention.

The article presents an examination into the political term "convention" and its connotations within the early American colonies leading up to the U.S. Revolutionary War. Details are given tracing the early origins of the word within colonial American political literature, noting its connections to the alternative assemblies of colonists in resistance to the British authorities. Further attention is given to its antecedent uses and understandings from the period of the English Civil War. Concluding comments are given highlighting the central precept of illegality or controversy within the word's meanings.