The Coercive Acts: British Response To The Boston Tea Party

The Coercive Acts known to the colonist as the Intolerable Acts were the British response to the Boston Tea Party. In December 1773, colonist boarded a British cargo ship and dumped 90,000 lbs. of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act. The Prime Minister of England, Lord North, responded by passing four laws that would punish the colonist for the destruction of the tea. The first law was that Boston Harbor would be closed until the colonist paid for the destroyed tea. This law was meant to cripple commercial life at one of the biggest hubs of commerce in the colonies. The second law, gave the governor the power to appoint all the judges, sheriffs, and officers of the court. This law also made it illegal for town meetings, except for the election of the
The third law, claimed that any royal official accused of a capital crime would be tried in Britain. This law in essence meant that any crime committed in the colonies by a royal official, would have less punishment when it was tried in a sympathetic England, if there was a trial at all. Lastly, the fourth law allowed military commanders to lodge soldiers wherever necessary, including private homes. This law did not sit well with the colonist and would eventually lead to the third amendment in the Bill of Rights, which stated that no soldier would be quartered in a private home during times of peace. Parliament and the Prime Minister felt justified in these actions after an attempt to help colonist by lowering British tea prices. After the blatant disregard for British authority, Parliament needed to reassert their dominance over the colonies. The acts were opposed in the colonies due to their invasive nature. The Coercive Acts hurt business, corrupted the justice system, and forced colonist to