Coercive Acts and American Reaction

Why did North pass the Coercive Acts?

- to punish Boston after he concluded that the town was the centre of colonial troubles
- because of the Boston Tea Party which was universally condemned in Britain

When were the Coercive Acts passed?

Between March and June 1774

Boston Port Act

closed Boston to all trade until the destroyed tea had been paid for
intolerable? - closed main source of income (trade is the lifeblood of Boston) - affects almost all Bostonians including those not involved in BTP
not that bad? - colonists should pay for the damaged tea as they were responsible for the damage - only temporary - food and firewood still allowed to be traded

Massachussets Government Act

allowed the governor to appoint and remove most civil officials. town meetings could not be held without his permission.
intolerable? no democracy (restricting rights of the colonists)
Lord North said act was "to take the executive power from the hands of the democratic part of government."

Imperial Administration of Justice Act

allowed for the transfer to Britain for murder trials
popularly known by the colonists as the 'murder act' because the patriots believed that the official could get away with capital offences
intolerable? - British jury not impartial - Boston massacre court case had proven that the colonial justice system worked

Quartering Act

gave broader authority to military commanders seeking to house their troops
BUT did not permit the housing of troops in private homes as commonly thought today, permitted housing in vacant public buildings only

General Gage becomes governor

martial law!!
in May 1774

Quebec Act

June 1774
passed at the same time as the Coercive Acts but not part of them (bad timing as only add to colonial anger)
to solve the problem of governing the French inhabitants of Canada
seen by colonists as a confirmation of evil British designs
placed authority in the hands of a governor w/o an elected assembly and limited trial by jury
suggested to colonists that Britain intended to put all of N America under authoritarian control

The American Reaction

most Americans believed the Acts were a threat to all of the colonies (not just MA)
if MA could be dealt with in this way, no colony was secure

Evidence of the Coercive Acts changing the mind of the elites

'I have opposed local popular policy of this Colony. I thought the principles of action to be unconstitutional. But now! Now this 'Tragedy of Five Acts' composed in the British Parliament violates all the rules of the political drama and makes it impossible for me to say one word in favour of British rule'

March 1774

New Yorkers found EIC tea on board the Nancy and set out to follow the Bostonians example, but while a party of 'Mohawks' readied themselves, the main crowd surged onto the ship and disposed of it themselves

13 May 1774

Boston Town Meeting asked all the colonies to boycott British goods until the Boston Port Act was repealed

5 June 1774

Boston Committee of Correspondence drafted a Solemn League and Covenant committing itself to a boycott, many communities endorsed the document

Not all merchants were convinced a boycott was the right course of action because...

- a trade boycott would probably harm America more than Britain
- previous non-importations had shown that boycotts were hard to enforce and that some merchants had made money from trade with Britain at the expense of others

Evidence of other colonies supporting Boston

- reports of 40,000 men from Connecticut marching to Boston after heating false reports that troops had fired upon Boston and killing inhabitants
- it was said that the roads to Boston were jammed with carts bringing relief from other colonies

Political response

- colonial assemblies, town meetings, newspapers, clergymen and other men of influence denounced the acts
- propoganda, spread through Committees of Correspondence, persuaded the colonists of the need for common, united action to defend American liberties

Virginia political action

24 May 1774: VI House of Burgesses passed a resolution condemning the Coercive Acts
26 May 1774: Governor Lord Dunmore dissolved the House
27 May 1774: 89/103 burgesses met at the Raleigh Tavern, adopted a non-importation agreement, pledged non-consumption of tea and denounced the Boston Port Act and proposed an inter-colonial congress to be called to seek redress of American grievances

What did the Virginia Burgesses declare the Boston Port Act to be?

'an attack, made on one of our sister colonies, to compel submission to arbitrary taxes, is an attack on all of British America and threatens the ruin of all.'

How many other colonies set up extra-legal conventions after VI?

By summer 1774, 7 other colonies, forbidden to meet, had done this.

Significance of extra-legal bodies

meeting in open defiance of the British, they assumed the role of government

How did 1774 change the nature of colonial resistance?

- natural rebellion was economic
BUT there was a step up in political rebellion

How many colonial newspapers were there by 1775?

42

How many of the newspapers were radical in emphasis?

all but 2 or 3 of the 42
language was incendiary and strident

Key pamphlets

'A Summary of the Rights of British America' by Thomas Jefferson in 1774 (Parliament had no right to exercise authority over Americans, no reason why 160,000 electors in Britain should give laws to millions of Americans, 'every individual of whom is equal to every individual of them'.
By 1774, some pamphlets and newspapers openly discussed independence.
John Adams: 12 'Novangulus' essays published between Jan '74 and March '75 in Boston Gazette, 'America is not part of the British realm or dominions'

When was the First Continental Congress?

September - October 1774

How mnay delegates went to the FCC?

56
every colony except Georgia sent at least 1

3 prominent radicals at the FCC

Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry of VI and John Adams

Leading moderates at the FCC

John Dickinson and Joseph Galloway

What was the purpose of the FCC?

'to consult upon the present unhappy state of the colonies'
- to fix the relationship, looking to fix imperial system
NOT TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE

Plan of Union of Great Britian and the Colonies

presented by Joseph Galloway
resolved that the FCC sought a redress of grievances, assured the King that the colonoes hold in 'abhorrence' the idea of independence and 'most ardently desire the establishment of political union'
rejected by the Congress by a single vote

Suffolk Resolves

- endorsed by the FCC Suffolk Resolve, Sep 19th
- proclaimed the Coercive Acts unconstitutional and void
- called for the creation of a boycott of goods and trade
- urged the colonies to raise militia
- urged MA to arm for defence
this split the Congress but its radical nature enabled other motions to be passed that would previously have been considered too radical

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

- a statement of complaints addressed to George III written at the FCC agreed on October 14
- asserted the rights of the colonists
- acknowledged allegiance to the crown BUT denied that the colonies were subject to Parliament's authority
- accepted that Parliament could regulate trade for the benefit of the whole empire BUT declared that it could not raise revenue of any kind from the colonists w/o their consent
- proclaimed right of each colonial assembly to determine the need for troops within its own province

Did FCC enforce a boycott?

- established a total boycoot of Britain by means of non-importation, non-exportation and non-consumption starting 1 December 1774 unless Parliament repealed the Coercive Acts
(inter-colonial unity!!! and shows colonial understanding of the importance of economic factors in popular action)
Continental Association and Committees of Safety called upon to enforce boycott

When was the next Continental Congress called for?

May 1775

Committees of Inspection

est in accordance with the Continental Association
some organised by old elite BUT others involved new - poorer - men
had a mandate to enforce the boycott but many went further and acted as a defunct local govt
functioned as quasi-courts, investigated and punished those who broke the Continetal Association's rules

Why was the FCC important?

1. it forced the colonists to clarify their thoughts, to explain motives behind their actions
2. allowed colonists to get to know and learn about each other, increasing colonial unity - the 13 colonies in 1774 were very different ('our embassy' - John Adams), 1st experience of spending a long time with other colonists, greater understanding of how other colonies worked
3. it was a training ground for future American statesmen - 'to be a school of political prophets, ... a nursery of American statesmen' - Adams
4. symbolised move towards rebellion - English saw the FCC as far more radical than it was, treasonous to England as rejecting their authority - shows lack of communication

How many colonists were involved in politics by spring 1775?

some 7000 (many directly involved for the first time), were serving on either Committees of safety or in extra-legal conventions

Who controlled MA?

by late 1774, British authority in MA had broken down in areas outside of Boston
officials outside of Boston who remained loyal to Britain were terrorised by mob action and forced out of office
outside Boston, effective authority resisded in Provincial Congress and a host of committees (stopped trade and took it upon themselves to organise military resources)
militia units were preparing for war
Gen. Gage had no control beyond where his troops could march - forced to ask the British govt for 20,000 more troops

What was the situation in other colonies by early 1775?

in most colonies, extra-legal conventions and committees had expelled traditional authority
arms and munitions were stockpiled, miltias drilled
RI and NH militia men seized cannon, arms and munitions from British forts

How radical were Americans?

not all Americans supported the rebel cause
NY remained predominantly loyal to Britain
most Americans continued to hope that a solution could be found within the framework of the existing colonial relationship
relatively few Americans sought independence

November 1774

Gage wrote to North recommending the temporary suspension of the Coercive Acts BUT neither King nor PM backing down

How many troops were sent to Boston?

only 4000 (16,000 less than Gage asked for)

What did Burke do in the Commons?

offered repeal of all legislation offensive to the Americans, defeated by 270 votes to 78

Chatham's 1775 bill

proposed the repeal of the Coercive Acts, rejected 61 to 32

What did North do in February 1775?

proposed a Conciliatory Plan
promised merely that Parliament would 'forbear' (however retain right) to tax any colony paying the cost of its own administration and making a satisfactory contribution to imperial defence
FAILED as Americans did not agree

When did Parliament declare MA to be in a state of rebellion?

February 1775

What did Dartmouth do in March 1775?

tell Gage to move against the rebellion and to arrest 'the provincial actors and abettors'

When did Parliament introduce limitations on colonial commerce with Britain and the British West Indies?

March 1775 - limited New England commerce
April 1775 - extended to all colonies