Coercive Acts and Colonial Unity (1773–1774)

Communication networks and colonial coordination

  • By the early 17701770s, the colonies built communication networks (committees of correspondence) to share information and stay on the same page about opposition to British policies.
  • Letters circulated across colonies (e.g., Massachusetts to Georgia) to coordinate actions like non-importation and boycotts.
  • The Massachusetts Circular, written by Sam Adams, urged no taxation without representation and urged other colonies to join boycotts.
  • Some circulars also opposed quartering troops; New York's assembly adopted opposition and the royal governor briefly suspended the assembly.
  • Over time (by the early 17701770s to 17741774) messages moved slower than modern standards, but networks persisted and tied colonies together for collective action.

The Tea Act of 17731773 and the Boston Tea Party

  • The British East India Company faced financial trouble and had a large stock of tea to unload; plan to sell at a cheap price while maintaining the tax to signal Parliament’s authority.
  • The Tea Act aimed to rescue the East India Company and reaffirm Parliament’s right to tax the colonies, while continuing taxation without consent in practice.
  • Boston Tea Party: Sons of Liberty dumped tea from ships in Boston Harbor; cost to the East India Company was about £2,000,000£2{,}000{,}000 in currency.
  • Other tea shipments were burned or seized in other colonies (e.g., Charleston), indicating widespread colonial resistance.
  • The British response saw the act as an act of rebellion; Parliament and King George III sought to make an example of Massachusetts.

The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts of 17741774

  • The Coercive Acts (British name) are called the Intolerable Acts by colonists; designed to punish Massachusetts and deter others.
  • Boston Port Act: closed the Port of Boston, until the tea debt was paid, with limited allowances for essential imports.
  • Massachusetts Government Act: banned local town meetings, undermining local self-government that New England had practiced for generations.
  • Administration of Justice Act: allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in Great Britain, outside the colonial system.
  • Quartering Act: required colonists to house and pay for British troops; connected to the arrival of a new royal governor, Thomas Gage.
  • These measures, instead of breaking colonial unity, helped to bring the colonies closer together in opposition.

The First Continental Congress (Sept–Oct 17741774)

  • Held in Philadelphia with representatives from 1212 colonies; Georgia did not attend.
  • Notable attendees included George Washington, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin.
  • Purpose: coordinate a response to the Coercive Acts, discuss colonial rights, and plan further resistance.
  • The gathering underscored the shift from isolated colonial actions to a coordinated continental stance.