The Intolerable acts were a set of laws intended to punish Massachusetts and the rest of the colonies for rebelling against British tax. With the Stamp acts recently repealed the colonists were feeling happy for the temporary solution, but they worried for the future and the taxes it could bring. At the same time, Britain is realizing that the colonies have more power than they would like and in order to prevent a rebellion, the empire must crack down. Even though Great Britain was justified in expecting the colonies to pay taxes, the Intolerable Acts were harsh, over the top, and completely uncalled for. After the Boston Tea Party King George realized that he was losing control of the colonies. In order to make sure that Britain did not lose …show more content…
The coercive acts consisted of 4 laws, the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts government act, the act for Impartial Administration, and the Quartering Act. The Boston Port act was meant to isolate the colonies and renew British relations with the East India Tea Company. It closed off the port of Boston until the colonists paid off all of the tea that they dumped into the harbor. The Massachusetts government act was meant to increase Britain’s control over the colonial government. This act abolished the charter and created a government run by a man appointed by the King.The act for Impartial Administration of Justice was meant to protect the men who worked for the King. It gave public officials the ability to move their …show more content…
But underneath of all the cheer and relief there was fear. They were afraid of what Britain would do next and they feared that Britain would deny them of their rights. When Britain passed the Intolerable acts their fears came true. The colonists felt that their rights as Englishmen had been violated. Their protection from the magna carta completely ignored. In response to the cries of the colonists a group of important figures met and called themselves the Continental Congress. This group contained many leaders such as: John Hancock, George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. All of the colonies except for Georgia participated. The first meeting sought fairness from the King not Freedom. In this meeting all of the colonies agreed to boycott British goods and create groups of fighters called militia to protect the colonies until the acts were alleviated. When this does not work a second meeting is called together. The leaders create a last ditch attempt to renew relations with England by creating a document called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. This declaration outlined what the colonist believed was the correct relationship between the mother country and the colonies. It claimed that Parliament could not pass any laws involving the colonies except for ones involving foreign
Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.
Another straw on the camels back was that throughout the 1700's multiple events added to the ticking time bomb of the colonists declaring their independence. In 1774 Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which were called the intolerable acts by the colonists. When one looks at these acts its obvious to see why they gained the name “intolerable”. These acts closed their ports, Shut down governments bringing them under parliaments control, helped red coats escape justice, and forced the colonists to give up there homes to house the British troops that they were fighting. Just this was the end of the rope for many colonists. Later, in 1775 was the Second Virginia convention was held in Richmond. Patrick Henry gave a beautiful speech that stated “Give me liberty, or give me death!”. These words struck home with many colonists who were now ready to fight for the freedom that they deserved.
Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.
The First continental congress was created after the revolt of the American colonies against the original Coercive Acts, also know as the Intolerable Acts. The first meeting happened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, consisting of delegates from each colony. The idea of the Continental congress was an overall petition from the colonists, in hope of the repeal of the Coercive Acts. The colonists goal was nothing more than to get rid of these ridiculous acts, and gain more independence from Britain. The congress issued a Declaration of Rights, implementing that they are still loyal to the British Crown, but not allowing the British to tax. The congress also called upon the colonies to stop importing any goods from the British Isles, if the Coercive Acts were not revoked, called the Articles of Association. By October 26, 1774, the First Continental Congress had split up. Although they split up, that did not stop the colonists to continue their fight for independence from the
The Four Coercive acts were passed in 1774 by the British Parliament, as a direct response to the Boston Tea Party that took place in December 1773. The British Parliament was furious and forced Massachusetts to pay for the tea and to submit to imperial authority. A Port Bill closed the Boston Harbor, the Government Act prohibited many town meetings, the Quartering Act required the colonist to house, feed, and build barracks for the British troops, with no say, and the Justice Acts allowed trials for capital crimes to be transferred to other colonies or Britain. This outraged the colonist, as each law violated exactly what John Locke had stated the government shouldn’t do, it was a violation of their constitutional rights, and colonial charters.
There were five acts that made up the Intolerable acts. The first was the Boston Port Act. The port of Boston was closed off to any form of trade. This was to make sure that there were no other good that could be purchased other than the British goods. The next act was the Massachusetts Government Act. This changed the government in the colonies. It made it so that you can not elect people for government. The king chose 12 to 36 representatives that he felt should be in a position of government. Another act that was passed was the Quartering Act. It stated that everyone needed to house and quater any British soldiers that were in the colonies. The next act was The Administration of Justice Act. This stated that all British officials were exempt from any criminal punishment, as long as their actions did not go against the kings rules for them. The last act that was passed was the Quebec Act. It was their way of explaining what happened when they tried to get Canada under British rule. The British expected the colonists to break apart and become un-unified. What happened was the colonists because the most unified that they had ever been. The defiance of the colonists against the British was one of the first times that the colonies came together, and were united as a
The Intolerable Acts were a series of British laws enacted in 1774 by the Parliament. The 5 intolerable acts included the Quebec Act, Boston Port Act Administration of Justice Act, Massachusetts Government Act, and Quartering Act. The Intolerable Acts were a way to punish the people of the Boston Tea Party. Once the British government found out about the Boston colonists dumping their tea to make ‘tea with saltwater’ they were furious. They got to work immediately to pass The intolerable laws to show their power over the American colonies.
In response to the events of the Boston Tea Party, the British parliament passed a series of laws called the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts in 1774. These Acts were: the ‘Boston Port Act’, closing down all trade of Massachusetts; the ‘Massachusetts Government Act’, Massachusetts was no longer allowed to govern themselves; the ‘Administration of Justice Act’, any person charged with murder while trying to enforce the law would be tried in England; and the ‘Quartering Act’, allowing British troops to be housed in
The Coercive Acts were the next challenge to the colonists sense of free will. These acts ignited conflicts across the colonies. These acts affected almost all aspects of life, from taxation to social and political factors. The Coercive Acts mainly consisted of five separate policies. The first act was the Boston Port Act, which effectively closed the port of Boston. This caused famine in Eastern Massachusetts, leading colonies to unite out of necessity, as the Boston population
As part of these acts, England closed all Boston harbors and ports. This deed effected everyone in the city and the colony. Also, England restricted local government and town meetings in Massachusetts. Other colonies along the Atlantic saw how much the colony of Massachusetts had been affected and sent them supplies to show their solidarity with a fellow colony. (Doc. G.)
On September fifth of 1774, 57 delegates from all colonies (except Georgia) met in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia to confer and draft a declaration of rights and grievances for the first time. Meetings discussing the colonies’ relationship with Britain and the Intolerable Acts went on until October 26, 1774. One major action was the sending of a demanding letter to King George III explaining that if Britain did not stop their treatment towards the colonies (the Intolerable Act), they would Boycott. Because the King ignored their request, Americans boycotted and the First Continental Congress decided to gather again in May of
The intolerable acts were made as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The British Government passed four laws. One that closed the port in Boston, one that increased the powers of the royal governor, one that abolished the upper house of the Massachusetts legislator, and cut the power of citizens,
The Parliament had all control over Colonists and had no more excuses except to obey the laws. The colonists wanted to forget the past and move on, they believed their rebellion had made Britain realize importance to the empire. Time went on and the colonists began to realize the whole purpose of the acts was to get them to forget all bought self-ruling.
After various revolts and a series of intolerable misbehavior from the colonists in Boston. After a long debate king George the III decided to punish the rebellious colonists with the Coercive Acts known in America as the Intolerable acts.
The acts placed on the colonies by the british had greatly angered the colonists since it went against their beliefs of “no taxation without representation”. The british knowing if they gave the colonies representation in the parliament that all the acts would be repealed and they would have no way to rid of their debt, denied the colonists of representation. In response the colonists created the continental congress in order to separate from britain to create their own government where equal representation was available to