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Intolerable Acts Dbq

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The Intolerable acts were a set of laws intended to punish Massachusetts and the rest of the colonies for rebelling against British tax. With the Stamp acts recently repealed the colonists were feeling happy for the temporary solution, but they worried for the future and the taxes it could bring. At the same time, Britain is realizing that the colonies have more power than they would like and in order to prevent a rebellion, the empire must crack down. Even though Great Britain was justified in expecting the colonies to pay taxes, the Intolerable Acts were harsh, over the top, and completely uncalled for. After the Boston Tea Party King George realized that he was losing control of the colonies. In order to make sure that Britain did not lose …show more content…

The coercive acts consisted of 4 laws, the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts government act, the act for Impartial Administration, and the Quartering Act. The Boston Port act was meant to isolate the colonies and renew British relations with the East India Tea Company. It closed off the port of Boston until the colonists paid off all of the tea that they dumped into the harbor. The Massachusetts government act was meant to increase Britain’s control over the colonial government. This act abolished the charter and created a government run by a man appointed by the King.The act for Impartial Administration of Justice was meant to protect the men who worked for the King. It gave public officials the ability to move their …show more content…

But underneath of all the cheer and relief there was fear. They were afraid of what Britain would do next and they feared that Britain would deny them of their rights. When Britain passed the Intolerable acts their fears came true. The colonists felt that their rights as Englishmen had been violated. Their protection from the magna carta completely ignored. In response to the cries of the colonists a group of important figures met and called themselves the Continental Congress. This group contained many leaders such as: John Hancock, George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. All of the colonies except for Georgia participated. The first meeting sought fairness from the King not Freedom. In this meeting all of the colonies agreed to boycott British goods and create groups of fighters called militia to protect the colonies until the acts were alleviated. When this does not work a second meeting is called together. The leaders create a last ditch attempt to renew relations with England by creating a document called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. This declaration outlined what the colonist believed was the correct relationship between the mother country and the colonies. It claimed that Parliament could not pass any laws involving the colonies except for ones involving foreign

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