Why did the continental congress adopt the olive branch petition?
a. to declare colonial independence from england
b. to prevent parliament from breaking with the colonies until a compromise could be worked out
c. to protest england's taxation of the colonies

John Dickinson drafted the Olive Branch Petition, which was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8, 1775. It was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown.