Baltimore was important in the time leading up to the American Revolution. Leaders like Jonathan Plowman Jr. got the city to refuse to pay taxes to Britain. Merchants (people who buy and sell things) signed agreements to not trade with Britain. The Second Continental Congress met in the Henry Fite House from December 1776 to February 1777. This made Baltimore the capitol of the United States during this time. In 1796, after the war, the Town of Baltimore, nearby Jonestown, and an area called Fells Point were incorporated as the City of Baltimore. (This means that these areas all merged and became the City of Baltimore.) The city was a part of Baltimore County until 1851. It then became an independent city.