DC US History CH 5.4 Road to Revolution: The Tea Act and Coercive Acts

The Tea Act of 1773 and Colonial Reaction

  • Causes for Protest:

    • Parliament reasserted its right to impose taxes without representation.

    • Feared the Act was designed to seduce colonists into conceding this principle by lowering tea prices.

    • Deeply resented the East India Company’s monopoly, suspecting Parliament members' investments.

    • Cut out colonial merchants and reduced profits from smuggled tea.

    • The remaining tea tax symbolized "no taxation without representation."

    • Many saw it as corrupt MPs violating the British Constitution.

Escalating Tensions (Pre-1773)

  • Suspicion of Parliament's intentions remained high, especially in port cities.

  • John Locke's doctrines on government's role to protect life, liberty, and property influenced political thought.

  • Gaspée Affair (1772): Rhode Island colonists burned a British revenue ship, leading to a Royal Commission of Inquiry with power to remove colonists charged with treason to Great Britain for trial.

  • Committees of Correspondence: Re-formed in Boston by Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, and James Otis, functioning as shadow governments that communicated news, identified enemies of the movement, and eventually supplanted royal governments as information sources.

Purpose of the Tea Act of 1773

  • Primarily economic protectionism for the East India Company, which faced bankruptcy.

  • Allowed the East India Company to export tea directly to colonies without duties or middlemen.

  • Even with the Townshend tax, it allowed the company to sell tea cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea, undercutting the smuggling trade.

Colonial Protest: The Destruction of the Tea

  • Colonists, coordinated by Committees of Correspondence, responded with boycotts.

  • British tea ships were held hostage along the East Coast.

  • Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773): Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawks, dumped all tea from three ships (Dartmouth, Eleanor, Beaver) into Boston Harbor.

  • Destroyed goods valued at almost 11 million in today's dollars.

  • This act unified most colonists but was not universally supported, with some shocked by property destruction.

Parliament's Response: The Coercive Acts (1774)

  • Infuriated King George III and Prime Minister Lord North, who demanded repayment from Massachusetts.

  • Massachusetts Assembly refused to make payments.

  • Four punitive measures were designed to punish Massachusetts:

    • Boston Port Act: Closed Boston Harbor until the East India Company was repaid.

    • Massachusetts Government Act: Placed colonial government under direct crown control and made town meetings subject to governor's approval.

    • Administration of Justice Act: Allowed royal governor to move trials of crown officers out of Massachusetts, preventing hostile juries.

    • Quartering Act: Applied to all colonies, allowing British troops to be housed in occupied buildings.

The Quebec Act (1774)

  • Expanded Quebec's boundaries westward and extended religious tolerance to Roman Catholics.

  • Objected by many Protestant colonists, especially in New England, as forced tolerance of Catholicism and a threat to westward expansion.

  • Seen as an additional affront alongside the Coercive Acts.

The Intolerable Acts

  • American Patriots renamed the Coercive and Quebec Acts as the "Intolerable Acts."

  • These acts, intended to punish one colony, instead mobilized all colonies to unite in opposition, leading to further coordination by the Committees of Correspondence.