On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia and the following December, Congress declared the importation of British goods to be illegal. Twelve months later the Congress outlawed the export of goods to Great Britain, thus establishing the first American export controls. Since then, the United States has imposed export controls for a variety of reasons through legislation such as the Embargo Act, Trading with the Enemy Act, the Neutrality Act, and the Export Control Act of 1949.