Why did the First Continental Congress vote by colony instead of by population?

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American Revolution *The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis* (at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781), oil on canvas by John Trumbull, completed in 1820; in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C. The painting captures the moment when major fighting during the American Revolution ended and the colonies achieved independence.

The First Continental Congress, which convened in 1774, adopted the practice of granting one vote to each colony regardless of its size or population to provide a sense of unity among the participating delegates. By ensuring that each colony-state held an equal voice, the Congress aimed to foster intercolonial cooperation and present a collective front against the British government's policies, such as the Intolerable Acts. This decision helped the delegates act as a unified body representing the interests of the colonies as a whole rather than prioritizing the specific demographics of individual regions.12