The Road to Revolution: From Coercive Acts to Lexington and Concord
The Empire in Transition: Part Two
The Boston Tea Party and Punitive British Measures
Boston Singled Out: Boston was chosen by the British government for punitive measures due to its history as a "hotbed of activity," with active Sons of Liberty and a long-standing Puritan New England Congregational Church resistance to royal overreach. The king and Parliament aimed to make an example of Boston.
The Coercive Acts (British Term) / Intolerable Acts (Colonial Term): These were a series of legal measures designed to coerce Bostonians into line with imperial plans and to set an example for other colonies. Colonists viewed them as "intolerable violations of their basic rights."
Boston Port Act: This act shut down the port city of Boston to all commerce until the destroyed tea was paid for by the city. Boston was effectively cut off from sea trade.
Massachusetts Government Act: Dissolved local government, including town hall meetings, and imposed martial law (rule by the military). The colonial assembly was superseded by royal officials and military officers, leading to a military occupation of Boston.
Reinstitution of the Mutiny and Quartering Act: This act was reinstituted, allowing for the quartering of British soldiers, even into private homes if deemed necessary.
Administration of Justice Act: This controversial law placed royal officials above the colonial court system and colonial laws. Royal officials accused of crimes would be tried in English courts, not colonial ones. George Washington labeled this the "murder act" because it effectively allowed colonial officials to commit crimes, including murder, without being subject to colonial justice.
Quebec Act: While not directly affecting the original British North American colonies, this act dealt with the governance of the Quebec province, acquired from France during the French and Indian War. It established new colonial governments in Canada without representative assemblies and allowed Catholicism. From the British perspective, this made sense given the French Catholic population. However, North American colonists viewed this as a provocation, fearing that the suspension of local representative government and the allowance of Catholicism (associated with rival empires and seen as an "enemy of liberty" by many Protestant colonists) might foreshadow the future for all British colonies, especially given the military occupation and dissolution of local government in Boston.
Colonial Reaction and Alarm
Support for Boston: Other colonies did not remain passive; they began sending supplies to Boston, exhibiting defiance against the laws imposed.
First Continental Congress: In September , in the aftermath of the closure of Boston, the First Continental Congress met. This gathering reflected the widespread concern and discussion in colonial papers that the British actions represented a serious "imperial overreach" and potential "tyranny" and a violation of "natural rights" and "colonial charters."
Preparation for Conflict: Alarm bells rang throughout the colonies. The countryside surrounding Boston began stockpiling gunpowder in anticipation of potential conflict, especially with a bolstered British military presence in Boston.
Battles of Lexington and Concord: The "Shots Heard Around the World"
British Objective: A British military detachment of soldiers was dispatched from Boston with orders to confiscate local militias' gunpowder supplies, aiming to prevent any potential resistance or attacks against British forces.
Warning and Mobilization: Paul Revere and other riders had gathered intelligence from inside Boston and ridden ahead to warn the surrounding communities that the British were coming, allowing the local militias (Minutemen, citizen-soldiers) to prepare.
Lexington Green: The British were met by Minutemen on Lexington Green. A shot was fired – no one is definitively sure by whom, though it was "most likely an American" as professional British soldiers typically would not fire without orders. Firing erupted, and the Patriot militia, being part-time soldiers, was quickly driven off, suffering several casualties.
Concord: The British marched to Concord, where a similar confrontation unfolded. News of the fighting spread, leading militias from surrounding towns to mobilize and converge on the British detachment.
British Retreat and Guerilla Warfare: Recognizing the growing numbers of colonial militias, the British officer wisely ordered a hasty retreat back to Boston. During the retreat, the British faced intense rearguard battles against descending American soldiers.
Contrasting Warfare Styles: The Americans employed a "guerrilla style war" common on the frontier, firing from behind trees and fence lines. This was considered a "savage mode of war" by the British, who were accustomed to "civilized rules of warfare" between empires, where "officers and gentlemen followed on the field of battle." The British suffered "pretty heavy casualties" on their return.
Formation of the Patriot Army: The remnants of the British force eventually made it back to Boston. The colonial militias, which had pursued the British, then encamped outside Boston. Their numbers swelled daily, forming a "Patriot army" out of the Massachusetts colonial militias, marking "the start of the fighting in the American revolution."
Second Continental Congress and Last-Ditch Efforts
Formation: Following the outbreak of fighting, the Second Continental Congress formed, recognizing the serious turn of events.
Diplomatic Efforts: They sent official documents to England, attempting a "last ditch effort" to resolve the conflict:
One document aimed to explain "why the colonists had taken up arms."
The Olive Branch Petition: This was a symbolic gesture of peace (an "olive branch being a symbol of peace") attempting to reassure King George III of the colonists' loyalty as British subjects. The intention was to clarify that their actions were not treasonous, a serious offense punishable by execution.
Mistaken Belief: There was a sentiment among some colonists that if King George III truly understood the mismanagement of his colonial officials, he would intervene on behalf of the colonists and a resolution could be reached. This belief proved to be incorrect.