Intolerable Acts Facts & Worksheets

In response to the Boston Tea Party, in 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts towards the American colonies.

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Table of Contents

In response to the Boston Tea Party, in 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts towards the American colonies.

See the fact file below for more information on the Intolerable Acts or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Intolerable Acts worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BEFORE THE INTOLERABLE ACTS

• On December 16, 1773, a number of American colonists in Mohawk disguise dumped about 342 chests of tea into the harbor, in Boston, Massachusetts as an act of protest.
• The act by the colonists was considered to be the first major measure of defiance against British rule. Such resistance began with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and Townshend Acts in 1767.
• The colonists disagreed with the British sentiment that they should contribute to the payment of war debt. They believed that they should not be taxed without any representation in Parliament.
• On March 5, 1770, five colonists were killed and six were injured after a fight between a group of colonists and British soldiers occurred in Boston. For the Americans, the event came to be known as the Boston Massacre.
• In response, George III, king of Great Britain eventually repealed the taxes except the tea tax. As a result, the colonists boycotted tea imported by the British East India Company. Instead, they smuggled Dutch tea.
• By 1773, the Parliament passed the Tea Act which allowed the East India Company to sell duty-free tea, which was cheaper than any other company.
• It is believed that the Sons of Liberty planned the Boston Tea Party, however none of them were caught due to their Native American costumes.
• Even after America’s independence, their identities were unknown.

NATURE OF THE INTOLERABLE ACTS

• The name “Intolerable Acts” was given to the Coercive Acts by American Patriots. They chose this name because the patriots could not “tolerate” the unfair and punitive laws. In Great Britain, the laws were called the Coercive Acts.
• The British Government passed the Intolerable Acts as a punishment to the colonies for the Boston Tea Party.
• Act 1: The Boston Port Act
  • This was a specific act that was in direct response to the Boston Tea Party. The objective of the Boston Port Act was to close the port until the colonists had fully paid for the tea they dumped.
  • The colonists thought it was unfair because it punished all citizens for the crime of a few. The other colonies sent supplies to help the residents of Boston.
  • It changed the government of the Massachusetts colony and gave more power to the governor, while taking power away from the colonists.
  • The governor was appointed by Great Britain and he was able to appoint his own government officials. This act spread fear across the colonies because if the British could punish Boston, they could do it to all the colonies.
  • The governor could move capital trials against government officials to Great Britain. This gave a lot of protection to government officials and witnesses would have travel to Britain if they wanted to testify against an official – making it nearly impossible to convict. The colonists were angered by this act and some called it the “Murder Act” because they thought it would let officials get away with murder.
  • Introduced in 1774, was an expansion of the original Quartering Act of 1765. The law stated that colonies were required by law the provide barracks for British soldiers. When barracks were not available, soldiers must be housed in other buildings like barns, hotels, and even colonist homes.
  • The fifth of the Intolerable Acts expanded the British Canadian territory into Ohio Valley. The Quebec Province became a Catholic province and it angered a lot of American colonists. The Quebec Act was not in response to the Boston Tea Party, but was passed at the same time.

  COLONISTS’ RESPONSE

  • The Intolerable Acts were one of the major events in the American Revolutionary War and actually united the colonies against the British. Many American Patriots spoke out and protested the acts because they believed they took away some of their basic freedoms and human rights.
  • In September of 1774, the Patriots organized the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest, and between September and April of 1775, tensions escalated and the American Revolutionary War broke out.
  • The war lasted more than a year, ending in July 1778 with the declaration of an independent United States of America.

  Intolerable Acts Worksheets

  This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Intolerable Acts across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Intolerable Acts worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Intolerable Acts. In response to the Boston Tea Party, in 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts towards the American colonies.
  

  

  Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Intolerable Acts Facts
  • Series of Five
  • Cause and Effect
  • Box Out
  • Famous Patriots
  • Continental Congresses
  • Speaking of Pictures
  • Coercive Acrostics
  • Mapping the Colonies
  • Tell A Story
  • Tolerable or Intolerable

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  Use With Any Curriculum

  These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.