The Intolerable Acts P1

When word of what the colonists had done arrived back in Great Britain, members of Parliament and the king were furious. They retaliated by passing a series of acts that they referred to as “The Coercive Acts,” but which Americans called “The Intolerable Acts.” Among them was the Boston Port Act, which stipulated that beginning on June 1, 1774, the British Navy would blockade and completely close down the harbor in Boston, thus shutting off all commerce to and from one of America’s busiest seaports.

This would cut off the Bostonians’ supplies and starve the townspeople into submission. When Boston’s Committees of Correspondence informed the other colonies what was happening, wagon loads of food and supplies began rolling in from across the country.

The day was widely observed as a day of fasting and prayer. The manifestations of sympathy were general. Business was suspended. Bells were muffled and tolled from morning to night; flags were kept at half-mast; streets were dressed in mourning; public buildings and shops were draped in black; large congregations filled churches.

Content Sourced From The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton.