Key Notes on the Coercive Acts and Prelude to the American Revolution

Coercive Acts (1774)- Intolerable Acts

• British response to the Boston Tea Party, aimed at punishing Massachusetts and discouraging rebellion in other colonies.

• Boston Port Act: Closed Boston Harbor until damages from the Tea Party were paid. Four British warships blocked the harbor, effectively stopping all maritime commerce and deep-sea fishing.

• Massachusetts Government Act: Gave the royal governor power to appoint and remove most civil officials, suspended the Massachusetts Colonial Assembly, and banned town meetings unless approved by the governor. Replaced Governor Thomas Hutchinson with military commander Thomas Gage.

• Impartial Administration of Justice Act: Allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in England instead of the colonies. Seen as a way to ensure British officials would avoid punishment. George Was  hington called this the ‘murder act.’

• Quartering Act (updated 1774): Allowed governors to seize buildings for housing British troops, though private homes were initially exempt.

• Quebec Act: Expanded Quebec's territory into the Ohio River Valley, frustrating American colonists who had hoped to settle in the region. Also allowed Catholic officials to hold power, increasing anti-Catholic sentiment among Protestant colonists.

Colonial Responses to the Coercive Acts:

• Boston Committee of Correspondence drafted the Solemn League and Covenant, pledging to boycott British goods.

• Some colonies sent food and money to aid struggling Bostonians.

• Royal governors dissolved assemblies that denounced the Acts.

• Political meetings continued despite British attempts to suppress them.

• Thomas Jefferson published A Summary of the Rights of British Americans, arguing that Britain had no authority over the colonies.

Powder Alarms (August 1774)

• General Thomas Gage, the new governor, attempted to seize colonial gunpowder stores.

• The first raid was successful, but news spread quickly, causing paranoia among patriots.

• False reports exaggerated British aggression, mobilizing 30,000 militia members in response.

• In reaction, colonists began hiding gunpowder in forests and private buildings.

• Gage stopped further seizures, realizing that colonial resistance was stronger than anticipated.

• Patriots formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, chaired by John Hancock, as an alternative government.

First Continental Congress (September 5 - October 26, 1774)

• Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies (except Georgia) met in Philadelphia.

• Included radicals (John and Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry) and moderates (John Dickinson, Joseph Galloway).

• Agreements:

  • Non-importation of British goods starting December 1, 1774, until     the Coercive Acts were repealed.

  • Ban on exports to Britain.

  • Formation of the Continental Association to enforce the trade boycott.

  • Adoption of the Articles of Association, a formalized agreement to resist British policies.

  • Declared the colonies had the right to govern themselves.

Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775)

• First military confrontation between British troops and colonial militias.

• General Gage ordered British troops to seize weapons in Concord and arrest patriot leaders.

• Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride warned militia forces of the British advance.

• At Lexington, 77 militia confronted British troops; a shot was fired (unclear which side), leading to open conflict—8 militiamen killed.

• At Concord, the British encountered strong resistance, were forced to retreat, and suffered 273 casualties.

• This battle marked the shift from a political struggle to an armed revolution.

Second Continental Congress (May 1775)

• Reconvened in Philadelphia after Lexington and Concord.

• Key actions:

  • Took charge of the war effort.

  • Created the Continental Army, appointing George Washington as its commander.

  • Issued $2 million in paper money to fund the war.

  • Sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, attempting to negotiate peace. King George III refused to read it.

  • Debate between continuing reconciliation or pursuing full independence intensified.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine (January 1776)

• Pamphlet advocating for independence.

• Sold 100,000 copies in one year and was read in churches, town halls, and military camps.

• Key Arguments:

  • Monarchy is inherently corrupt.

  • America should govern itself.

  • The colonies are capable of independence and should not remain under British rule.

  • Mocked idea of peace

• Made revolution accessible to common man

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson

• July 2, 1776: Congress voted for independence.

• July 4, 1776: Declaration officially adopted.

• Key Principles:

  • All men are created equal.

  • Government derives power from the consent of the governed.

  • The people have the right to alter or abolish oppressive governments.

• Established moral and legal justification for rebellion.