The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress lists 343 men who attended the Continental Congress, including the future U.S. Presidents         George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, along with another 90 who were elected as delegates but never served. The Congress met from 1774 to 1789 in three incarnations.