Coercive Acts Imposed (1774)
“The British were shocked and outraged by the Boston Tea Party. It was clear the British were going to respond, the question was how. Some in parliament, led by William Pitt and Edmund Burke, urged caution. Pitt and Burke warned the parliament they were going down the wrong path with the colonists. However, their words of warning were ignored. Parliament decided to punish those in Boston, on a number of measures. The first was the Boston Port Act. That act closed the port of Boston until the East India was compensated for their tea.
“The Boston Port Act shocked the people of Boston. The Boston Committee of Correspondence immediately called for a meeting in Faneuil Hall. There, letters were sent out to other colonies asking for support. The letter stated: ‘The single question then, is whether you consider Boston as now suffering a common cause, and sensibly feel and resent the injury and affront.’
“Boston asked other colonies to stop trading with England as a response to the British actions. The colonies were sympathetic to Boston's plight, but responses were mixed.
“The British were not willing to stop with the closing of Boston Harbor. They then enacted the Massachusetts Government Act. This act suspended the popular election of councilors. The act called to replaced the councilors with directly appointed officials, as well as directly appointed judges. This new act created even more resentment in the colony than the Boston Port Act. Not only was Boston upset, the entire Massachusetts colony was now up in arms. British officials could no longer operate in areas where the British army was not in place. Opponents to these acts barred the judges appointed by the crown from hearing cases and the newly appointed crown representatives were convinced not to take office.“The British made one final mistake. The British passed the Quebec Act. This act extended the Quebec province along the western borders of the colonies, thus sealing them off from Western expansion. The act further ensured those colonies would be open to Catholic settlers. This act further alarmed the Protestant Puritans of the New England.“The British hoped their acts would force Boston and the surrounding areas into submission. The British acts had the opposite effect. Implementing these acts was one of the last of a long string of miscalculations made by the British government in the wake of the impending American independence.”
The First Continental Congress (1774)
“A cry went on among the colonies after the implementation of the Intolerable Acts by the British, in response to the Boston Tea Party. Once again colonists called to organize a meeting or Congress of all the colonies, modeled on the Stamp Act Congress.
“Leaders of the various colonies all agreed that such a meeting was welcome and necessary to coordinate their response to the British actions. The various colonies selected their delegations. The representatives all set out for Philadelphia, the agreed location.
“Nowhere was the Congress more welcome than in Massachusetts. On May 25th, 1774, the Massachusetts General Court elected members to the Governor's Council. Governor Hutchison vetoed 12 of the members, including John Adams. The governor then left to England for consultations. The Governor left behind General Gage in charge. Gage promptly adjoined the council, which met anyway.
“The council appointed a delegation to the Continental Congress. The delegation consisted of Thomas Cushing, James Bowdoin, Robert Treat Paine, John and Samuel Adams. When Gage heard of their decision, he disbanded the Great and Gnarl Court. Gage wrote Lord Dartmouth, informing him of the plans of the Congress. He wrote: ‘It is not possible to guess what a body, composed of such heterogeneous matter will determine; but members from hence, I am assured will promote the most haughty and insolent resolves; for their plans has ever been by high-sounding sedition to terrify and intimidate.’
“On August 10th, John Adams and the delegation set off for Philadelphia. The delegation arrived in Philadelphia twenty days later, after visiting Hartford, New Haven and New York on the way. They began meeting members of the other delegations.
“On September 5, 1774 the entire delegation met. All of the colonies, with the exception of Georgia, had sent representatives. The Congress was divided between militant and conservative delegates. The conservative delegates wanted to buy time to allow the British government to come to its senses. The more militant delegates wanted to take immediate action against the British. It was clear, early on, that the conservatives were a minority-- as the hard line opponents to British rule were elected by the Chairman of the Congress, as well as, the secretary.
“The Congress debated various options. In the end, the Congress settled on passing a call for non-Importation and non-Exportation, unless the British repealed the actions they had taken against Massachusetts. The delegates called for the immediate non-importation of good from England, while putting off the non exportation clause for one year. The Congress also agreed to meet again in one year if Britain had not changed its policies.
“The accomplishments of the First Continental Congress were modest. None of the delegates were under the illusion that the implementation of the non-importation agreement would change British policies, even if it were possible. Rather, it was the very meeting of the Congress that was important. Delegates from 12 different colonies had assembled. Despite their regional differences the colonist successfully reached an agreement. During one of the early discussions Patrick Henry of Virginia gave a rousing speech in which he stated: ‘Today I am no longer a Virginian, but an American.’ While state allegiances have not disappeared to this day, the First Continental Congress was an essential milestone in establishing a collective identity for colonists as Americans. The First Continental Congress led, of course, directly to the Second Continental Congress, where momentous events would transpire.”
(Note: Unless otherwise stated, the historical information presented in quotations comes from www.historycentral.com.)
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