The intolerable acts
- The British Parliament had been able to ignore the boycotts and the protests, but they decided that the Boston Tea Party was the last straw. In response to the Tea Party, the Parliament took drastic measures to prevent another rebellious act. A group of laws that came to be known by the colonists as the Intolerable Acts was passed in 1774, all of which enraged the colonists.
The next four acts were classified as the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament, but the patriots combined them with the Quebec Act to create the Intolerable Acts. These included the Boston Port Act, which closed the essential trading port until such a time when the colonists could repay the British East India company for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party. This meant that the trade to and from the colonies was greatly decreased, and there was a shortage of many goods for the colonists.
The third Intolerable Act was the Massachusetts Government Act. This act appointed a British official, General Thomas Gage, the Governor of Massachusetts. It also restricted the amount of say that the people of Massachusetts had in their state government, and revoked the Constitution of Massachusetts. Essentially, Massachusetts had been stripped of its power in the government entirely.
Fourth came the Administration of Justice Act, which stated that the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts was permitted to relocate the trials of royal officials who had committed capital offenses if he felt that they would not receive a fair trial in the colonies. These officials were sent back to England to be put on “trial,” and nearly all of them were released without any punishment at all, which was very upsetting for the patriots.
The last of the Intolerable Acts was the Quartering Act. This was a revision to the earlier Quartering Act of 1765, which stated that the colonists had to provide residence for the British troops in all public facilities (inns, taverns, etc.). The Quartering Act of 1774 told the colonists that they were required to allow the soldiers to take up residence wherever they wished to, including the home of townspeople. This caused the colonists to feel as if their privacy was being invaded, which it was.
All of these acts together made the colonists feel as if they were helpless under the power of the British Parliament, and caused them to take action and begin the American Revolution.