Coercive Act Dbq

The Surge of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

“No taxation, without representation! No taxation, without representation!” This powerful maxim, running through the thick blood of the Bostonians and other Americans alike, was a cry for freedom. As the British encroached on American soil, colonists fought as an unbreakable band of soldiers and freedom fighters, never laying down their artillery of justice and liberty. With the Boston Tea Party at termination, a completely new beginning was erupting. The formation of the Coercive Acts came into effect, with the unruly Bostonians causing havoc when dumping thousands of pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. With the British in a frenzy, the Parliament demanded change and forced laws

upon the “incompetent” Bostonians. As renown David Ramsay once expressed, “These acts of Parliament…became a cement of a firm union…our charters and other rights and immunities must depend on the pleasure of Parliament” (“Colonists Respond” 2).

Feeling unjustified and wiped clean of freedom, Bostonians rebelled. These partisan acts, the Coercive Acts, created a rebellion of justice, a hope of rebirth, and a mere glimpse of the start of a revolution.

The Coercive Acts, to begin with, are the turning points of the American Revolution, which consequently led to the outrage of the colonists of Boston. These acts intended to suppress the uneasiness in Boston by closing the port and placing it under harsh law (“Continental Congress, 1774” n.p.). Many boycotted, while others remained in silence. Parliament passed five punctuate acts including; the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act (Wallenfeldt 31). The first of these grandiose actions was the Boston Port Act, which stated

the port of Boston must remain closed until damages of the Boston Tea Party were paid in full (“The Continental Congress” n.p.). This act abolished all that the Bostonians lived for. The tax on tea was the cause of the colonists’ rebellion, and they were not foregoing to compensate the British that led them to this rebellion. As the Massachusetts Government Act passed, the Parliament eradicated town meetings and turned the governor’s council into an appointed body (Wallenfeldt 32). Yet, this act did not stop the colonists from meeting in secrecy, but it did enrage the colonists even further. Thirdly, the Administration of Justice Act protected British officials against criminal prosecution. Later the Quartering Act came into effect, which allowed British soldiers to stay in a colonist’s home (“The Continental Congress” n.p.). Finally, the Quebec Act came into existence, which stopped all fur trade west of the Mississippi, which blocked American control of western land. This act also extended the freedom of worship to Catholics of Canadian residence (Wallenfeldt 32). Although these acts may have stunted Boston’s plans in rebellion, the colonists of Boston prepared to fight for their justice.
Besides valiantly battling with the British for their justice, the colonists banded together in search of rebirth. The Bostonians knew that if the entire thirteen colonies were not wholly involved in the hopes of the deterioration of the British Parliament in America, then a rebellion would not occur. “To convince the bulk of the people that they had an interest in foregoing a present good and submitting to a present evil [the colonists] needed to obtain a future greater good and to avoid a future greater evil” (“Colonists Respond” 2). To obtain “a future greater good,” Bostonians did everything they could to spread the corruption of the British Parliament. They handed out pamphlets, wrote countless articles in the newspaper, held meetings in the middle of towns, and abused the laws forced upon them (2). Both the young and old participated in publicly presenting the injustice in the Parliament. “A patriot flame, created and diffused by the contagion of sympathy, was communicated to so many breasts and reflected from such a variety of objects, as to become too intense to resist” (2). This “flame” of passion formed the First Continental Congress on September 5, 1774, which intensely boosted the conscience of the colonists (Time ed. 25).
Immediately following, the First Continental Congress became the prelude of the American Revolution.

Congressional representatives of all the thirteen colonies met in Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Whitney 75). Enraged congressmen, Patrick Henry stated, “…British oppression has effaced the boundaries of the several colonies; the distinction between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New Englanders is no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” The British Parliament tore the colonies apart and America did not act as an indivisible nation, but rather many nations. All prosperity paid off, and the Continental Congress called all colonies to cease trades with Britain, until Britain stopped enforcing the laws that punished the people of Boston

(75).
Just as the Boston Tea Party began an up rise in all of Boston, the Coercive Acts began a rebellion in all of America. The Coercive Acts marked the beginning of the first sign of injustice, gave America the hope of an independent nation, and aroused the beginning of the revolution. This surge of life as a true American, the liberty found in the injustice of Britain, and the happiness established by the colonists, truly shaped the home of many. Founding father John Adams once said, “The spirit, the firmness, the prudence of our providence are vastly applauded, and we are universally acknowledged the saviors and defenders of American liberty.”