O: The Coercive/ Intolerable Acts

Definition of the Intolerable Acts (A BRITISH Action)

The Intolerable Acts, also called the Coercive Acts, were a series of British Laws, passed by the Parliament from May-June in 1774. Four of the Intolerable Acts were specifically aimed at punishing the Massachusetts colonists for the actions taken in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party. The fifth of the Intolerable Acts series was related to Quebec was seen as an additional threat to the liberty and expansion of the colonies. King George III, Parliament, and the majority of the British people were furious when they found that the Boston colonists had made "tea with salt water." The British Parliament immediately went to work passing the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists and stamp their authority on the American colonies.

Purpose of the Intolerable Acts

The Purpose of the Intolerable Acts of 1774 were as follows:

• • The purpose of the Boston Port Act of the Intolerable Acts was to close the port of Boston until the tea that had been destroyed at the Boston Tea Party had been paid for. Only food and firewood were permitted into the port of Boston

  • The purpose of the Massachusetts Government Act was to effectively suspend the right of self-government in the Massachusetts colony and revoke the colony's 1691 charter

  • The purpose of the Administration of Justice Act of the Intolerable Acts allowed the Governor to send rebellious colonists for trial in other colonies or in Great Britain

  • The purpose of the Quartering Act of 1774 of the Intolerable Acts was to extend the provisions of the previous 1765 Quartering Act giving the governor, rather than the assembly, the authority to enforce arrangements to ensure that the colonists supplied billeting for the troops

    • The 1765 Quartering Act had required colonial governments to absorb the costs associated with quartering British troops which included food, shelter, bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, salt, vinegar, beer or cider and candles.

  • The purpose of the Quebec Act of the Intolerable Acts was to:

    • Extend the Province of Quebec to include territory west to the Mississippi (lands won in the French & Indian War)

    • Passed religious reforms that were highly favorable to the Catholic majority in Quebec and allowed Catholics to hold public offices

    • Denied the right to an elected legislative assembly

The Intolerable Acts of 1774 - Miscalculation by the British (COLONIAL Response)

Great Britain had hoped that the harsh actions taken in the Intolerable Acts would isolate the New England radicals in Massachusetts and panic the other colonies into conceding the authority of Parliament over their elected assemblies. They were completely incorrect in their assumptions, their Intolerable Acts had woken the sleeping lion. The communication network in the colonies operated by the Committees of Correspondence enabled the colonies to plan a course of action and colonial resistance. The colonies were able to take a united stand against the British government and the provisions of the Intolerable Acts.

• • The colonists saw this as a violation of their rights and that their colonial charters could be rescinded.

  • The other colonies were in sympathy with Massachusetts. Especially the harsh treatment of Boston in which everyone suffered, not just the handful who participated in the Boston Tea Party

  • The First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to coordinate a colonial response to the Intolerable Acts.