Essay on Effect of Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts (also known as the Coercive Acts) is the name given to a group of policies enforced by the Government for the colonies in America in response to the French and Indian war (as mentioned in section 1), these were seen as fair to but not to the colonists. It is the opinion of some that had the government backed down and relaxed its hold on the colonists; the revolution would have never happened. The intolerable acts themselves appear to support this view due to the fact the fierce oppression from the crown spurred the colonists into total rebellion. The Intolerable Acts were a response to the Boston Tea Party which saw the forced closure of the Boston Port and demanded the colonists repay the money lost from the ruined cargo. Town meetings were banned and lost more support in the Americas. It can be argued this was a fatal error in the decision as the First Continental Congress was formed in response to creating a government in which all the colonies were represented. The situation in America can definitely be considered misgovernance as were greatly divided on how to deal with the colonists, the Whigs saw the need for reform however the Tories wanted to employ a more aggressive policy, it seemed the lives of thousands of colonists were in the hands of the wealthy elite who acted partly on a whim and partially to suit their own desires.

The acts were brought into law decades after the end of the Seven Years War however they are often attributed to having started at the end of the war, between 1763-6514 Lord Grenville was prime minister and was a staunch believer that the colonists should pay back the debt incurred on their behalf, he had the support of parliament even if the monarch himself referred to him as an insufferable bore, there were some members of parliament against this however as even Grenville`s brother in law worried the colonists would resent the sudden intrusion and as it proved his fears became reality, it could be argued that it was not misgovernance due to the fact that to parliament the measures seemed reasonable since America as it was, was prospering and therefore it made no sense to exclude the Americans from taxation since they could afford it. However, where it can be considered gross misgovernance is the fact parliament was warned of the consequences of enforcing harsher policies on the colonists and ultimately directly caused the revolution therefore it appears Government purposely ignored the will of the colonists.

The news of the Boston Tea Party reached the king in early 177414, he personally approved of the Intolerable Acts that were intended to force the colonists into submission (a rather heavy-handed policy), parliament, therefore, produced four new laws and updated a previous one, this included The Boston Port Bill, the Administration of Justice Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, The Quebec Act, and the Quartering Act, since the colonists were defying parliaments right to tax and rule over them, the acts were designed to be what they were called by the colonists- intolerable.

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The first of these laws in 1774 was intended to be a direct punishment for the tea party. The Boston Port Act enacted march 31st 177414 was in the words of the act itself an act to discontinue, in such manner, and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, lading, or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise, at the town, and within the harbor, or Boston the wording of the act itself suggests that ignoring parliament would only lead to a destruction of public peace and disorder, it tried to vilify protests against the government suggesting it would lead to the death of the king`s officials as well as threatening society, to this extent it is clear that the intent of the act was to make the colonists submissive as well as portray Government in a more favorable light as peacekeepers against rebellious subjects. The Boston Port Act closed Boston`s ports except for deliveries for the king or for fuels and supplies however considering it was in effect for almost four months it would have crippled Boston`s economy, It could be suggested that this was gross misgovernance as it was purposely hindering the economy of Boston and making lives more difficult for those who lived there, purposely causing suffering; Since these measures in Boston garnered mass sympathy for the Boston colonists and encouraged other colonies to rebel, it can be argued that here, Misgovernance was directly responsible for the revolution.

The Administration of Justice Act enacted May 20th, 177414 further severed ties between the colonists and the imperial government as it involved trials for Officials being moved to Britain to appear before the king`s bench. This insulted the colonists in two ways, the first was that it implied the colonists could not administer true justice, insulting the judiciary system within the colonies. The second way it was offensive was that to some it felt was just protecting their own sending them back to where they were unlikely to get punished14. The serious consequences this act resulted in increased the growing divides between the colonists and forces and a rebuttal from the colonists which saw them create their own rival government, however, it is not necessarily misgovernance since the government may have judged the times too unstable to justify safe trials in the Americas and therefore trial in Britain would be safer for the officials where they were unlikely to be lynched. However, the act also limited local authority since assemblies and town councils had their powers restricted and given to the governor, this can be considered misgovernance since it was a well-known fact the colonists feared losing their autonomy and government instead of appeasing them and set out to prove them right.

The other two notable acts The Massachusetts Government Act of May 20th, 1774, and the Quartering Act of June 177414 further divided the colonists, in the Massachusetts Government Act the government of Massachusetts was brought directly under the king`s control with the governor being the king`s direct representative, it also implied that the frequent number of meetings held by colonists implied an abuse of power which is why the number of meetings was limited. This created huge sympathy for the colonists within Massachusetts since the Americans were ignoring the colonies right to self-govern that had existed since they were established1. These measures were intended to quell disturbances but only ended up increasing violent opposition meaning this can be considered gross misgovernance. The Quartering Act amended previous legislation before colonists had to only supply soldiers with unoccupied buildings and food but the change now required colonists to welcome soldiers into their own homes14. This was massively unpopular with the colonists and constitutes misgovernance since effectively the crown was spying on the colonists in their own homes. This change in legislation was a violation of privacy as people now had soldiers staying in their homes. The Quartering Act along with the other Intolerable Acts pushed the colonists into outward rebellion suggesting that the revolution was to a great extent caused by misgovernance.

The response to the acts was that almost all the colonies barring Georgia sent delegates to a continental congress in September 177414, this was a direct result of the acts as other colonies became highly sympathetic to Massachusetts. The outcome of the congress declared the colonists wanted greater rights however crucially they did not want independence. They advocated for the colonies to have the right to tax and legislation, but parliament could retain the power to regulate trade, instead of agreeing to these concessions and appeasing the colonists, the Government responded with King George`s speech to parliament on October 26th, 177514, in this the king declared to parliament that the colonies were in open rebellion, and force was permitted to be used on the rebels. As of his speech, the king had declared war on his own subjects, in this instance this could be considered an act of misgovernance since the king refused to compromise with the colonists, and the heavy-handed approach he then took, caused the deaths of thousands of people and a revolutionary war that would drastically weaken the empire.