THE INTOLERABLE ACTS (COERCIVE ACTS)

In response to the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Great Britain aimed to use a heavy hand on the rebellious colony of Massachusetts. In 1774 Parliament passed four acts that they described as the “Coercive Acts” but quickly became known in America as the “Intolerable Acts.”

The first of these acts was the Boston Port Act which closed the port of Boston and stopped trade entirely until the people of Boston paid for the tea that had been destroyed. This act not only caused fear and panic among many of the city’s merchants, it punished the entire city for the actions of the radical group who destroyed the tea.

Next, they passed the Massachusetts Government Act which placed the Massachusetts government under the direct control of Great Britain. British General Thomas Gage was appointed royal governor, and local town meetings held in the colony were limited.

The Administration of Justice Act removed the ability of the colonists to hold trials of British officials in the colonies. Despite the fact that in 1770, the British soldiers who committed the “Boston Massacre” were given a fair trial and acquitted of the charges of murder, this showed the British still did not trust the colonists in administering justice fairly. By having British soldiers sent back to England for trial, many patriots saw this as a way for British officials and soldiers to avoid justice.

Finally, a new Quartering Act allowed royal governors, rather than colonial assemblies/legislatures, to find homes and buildings to quarter or house British soldiers. This applied to all the colonies and only further enraged colonists by having what appeared to be foreign soldiers housed in American cities.

King George III and Parliament intended for these strict acts to serve as a punishment for the colony of Massachusetts and as a warning to the other American colonies as well. The hope was that other colonies would soon submit to British authority out of fear of similar punishments.

However, these measures backfired on the British. The other colonies were horrified by what they witnessed. After seeing the power Great Britain leveled on Massachusetts, other colonies quickly became sympathetic with their fellow colonists and began to wonder how much longer it would be before the same type of actions would unfold in their own cities or colonies. The other American colonies soon sent aid and supplies to the struggling people of Boston.

On top of the fear these acts caused in colonies throughout America, they also forced the colonists to begin asking more important questions. These questions included: where had Great Britain received its authority? And to what degree did they have the right to use such force on the colonies? The word tyranny [unjust or oppressive rule by a government] was used to describe the actions of Parliament and the Crown. These harsh acts only seemed to make the colonists more resistant to British rule.

Reading adapted from America Battlefield Trust:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/intolerable-acts