Intolerable Acts

Q: What were the Intolerable Acts?

The Intolerable Acts, or the Coercive Acts, were a series of laws passed by British Parliament in 1774 to punish the Thirteen Colonies for the Boston Tea Party. The acts helped lead to the American Revolutionary War.

Q: What did the Intolerable Acts do?

The Intolerable Acts included: the closure of Boston's port to trade; the replacement of Massachusetts elected officials with royal appointees; sending accused royal officials to England for trial rather than trying them in Massachusetts; quartering soldiers in unused American buildings; expanding the Province of Quebec's borders to the Ohio River.

Q: When were the Intolerable Acts passed?

British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts between March and June 1774, in the lead-up to the American Revolutionary War.

Q: Why did the First Continental Congress meet?

The First Continental Congress met in September 1774 so that the colonists could formulate a response to Parliament's Intolerable Acts, passed earlier that year.

Harrison W. Mark

Definition

The Intolerable Acts, also known as the Coercive Acts, were five laws passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in 1774 to punish the Thirteen Colonies of British North America for the Boston Tea Party. Though the acts primarily targeted the town of Boston, Massachusetts, they caused outrage throughout the colonies and helped spark the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).

More about: Intolerable Acts

Timeline

Mar 1774 - Jun 1774
British Parliament passes the Intolerable Acts to punish the Thirteen Colonies for the Boston Tea Party.
20 May 1774
The British Parliament passes the Massachusetts Government Act, the second of the four Intolerable Acts, to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The legislation revoked Massachusetts' charter and placed the colony under martial law, increasing already high tensions leading up to the American Revolutionary War.
5 Sep 1774 - 26 Oct 1774
The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to coordinate a response to the Intolerable Acts.