The
Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second
Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, in a final attempt to avoid a full-on war between the
Thirteen Colonies, that the Congress represented, and
Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict. However, the petition was followed by the July 6
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, making its success in London improbable. In August 1775 the colonies were formally declared to be in rebellion by the
Proclamation of Rebellion, and the petition was rejected in fact, although not having been received by the king before declaring the Congress-supporting colonists traitors.