Day 51
SWBAT: identify the Coercive Acts and explain their impact on the Colonies.
Do Now:
Use the above graphic to tell me everything you know about the Boston Tea Party.
-
This should include when it occurred, the name of the ships, what they were dressed as
Tell me how the rebels destroyed the tea, how much tea was destroyed (chests, weight, and price
amounts)
Also include how many cases survived and how one of them found their way to the Boston Tea Party
museum.
Agenda: 1) Do Now 2) The Coercive /Intolerable Acts
The Coercive Acts
The Boston Tea Party was, as the name suggests, a kind of celebration in the eyes of those who participated in it. In
British eyes (and, it must be admitted, to any neutral / unbiased observer) it was a serious crime.
Opinion: Was the tea party a serious crime? Answer and give one reason to support your response.
Needless to say, when the news of the “Tea Party” reached England, government leaders were furious. Upon
hearing the news Parliament promptly passed a series of laws designed to punish the misbehaving colonists and
force them to submit to the government’s authority. These acts, known in Great Britain as the Coercive Acts, were
termed the Intolerable Acts in America. They included five separate pieces of legislation: the Quartering Act, the
Quebec Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Boston Port Act.
Parliament also decided that it was time for a change of leadership and placed General Thomas Gage, the
commander of all British troops in America, as the new Governor of Massachusetts. In addition to this the number
of troops in Boston was increased.
Why did the British call the acts the “coercive acts”?
Think: What do you think the term intolerable means? Upon figured out the meaning of the word, tell me why you
think the American’s would name them the intolerable acts. (Use the context and note the word
tolerate/tolerance is hidden inside the word)
In addition to the acts, Parliament opted to change the Governor. What does this new Governors background tell
us?
COERCIVE ACTS & QUEBEC ACT, 1774
Boston Port Act
Closed the harbor of Boston to shipping until payment had been
made for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party. Brought
economic hardship to merchants and all residents; colonies
organized relief campaigns as Boston's provisions dwindled.
Massachusetts
Government Act
Placed colony under direct British rule, with officials appointed by
the king and the governor. Strictly limited powers of the colonial
assembly and the town meetings.
Administration of
Justice Act
Permitted the trials of British officials accused of murdering
colonists (and other capital offenses in the line of duty) to be sent
to another colony or to Britain for trial in order to avoid juries of
colonists.
Quartering Act
Permitted governors to house British soldiers in unoccupied
buildings owned by private citizens, with restitution.
Quebec Act
Allowed the former French province to maintain French law and
official religion (Roman Catholicism); extended boundaries to
include the Ohio River Valley; aggravated colonists' suspicions that
Britain intended to surround and subjugate them.
Putting them in your own words:
Boston Port Act:
Massachusetts Government Act:
Administration of Justice Act:
Quartering Act:
Quebec Act:
Can you match the Act?
In the section below, you will be given a scenario which corresponds to one of the above acts…Can you match the
correct ones? Also tell me how it relates to an act.
1) You are paid 12 British Pounds Sterling to house a Captain of the 29th regiment in your unused guest
bedroom.
2) Mr. Bartlebee’s Antiquarian (Old) Book Shop, which is located on Walnut St. in Boston, is running low on
books and the latest copies of the London Post.
3) Sir Reginald Collingsworth, a grenadier from Sussex, is going to be tried for assaulting children with clubs
in Georgia despite being arrested in Dorchester.
4) Montreal continues to maintain strong lies to France despite being controlled by Britain. This is why there
is such a strong French influence there today!
5) General Thomas Gage, commander of all British troops in America, is appointed the new Governor of
Massachusetts.
Create your own scenario for one of the acts below.
6)
Primary Source Analysis
”The able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught.
How is America being represented?
What is being forced down America’s throat? What correlation (connection) does this make to our class?
Who do you think is the person dumping the tea down the throat of the Americans?
What is written on the cutlass of the man all the way to the left? What does that represent?
What else do you notice in the graphic? What connections can you make?
Based on your previous answers and observations, whose perspective do you think this is? Also, if you had to
guess, who do you think would have been put in charge of creating such a graphic?
Many Americans who had been critical of British policies spoke out against the Tea Party as an unnecessary act of
violence. However, the Coercive/Intolerable Acts angered and frightened everyone! To punish the entire
community because some tea was destroyed by extremists was the act of tyrants. Benjamin Franklin wrote that if
the British government wanted to make up for the East India Company’s loss, it ought to pay the money itself. It
could subtract the sum from the far larger amount it had “extorted” from the colonies by its many illegal polices.
What would have served the British government better… ignoring the Tea Party or passing the Coercive Acts?
Using the above context, what do you think the term extort means?
What illegal policies is Benjamin Franklin referring to at the end of the above reading?