 The first official session of the Syrian Congress was held on June 3, 1919 and al-Fatat member Hashim al-Atassi was elected its president.On June 25, the King-Crane Commission arrived in Damascus to a flurry of leaflets which said “Independence or Death”.On July 2, 1919, the Syrian Congress passed a number of resolutions pertaining to the formation of Syria as a completely independent constitutional monarchy with Faisal as king, asking for assistance from the United States, and the refusal of any rights claimed by the French.