US History › Section C · Toward independence › Topic C.4

The tea crisis, the Coercive Acts, and the First Continental Congress

A law meant to rescue a struggling company led to the destruction of a fortune in tea, a harsh punishment of Massachusetts, and the first congress of almost all the colonies. Between 1773 and 1774, a quarrel about taxes became a crisis of authority.

In this topic

  • An uneasy calm
  • Committees of Correspondence
  • The Tea Act of 1773
  • Worked example: why cheaper tea caused a crisis
  • The destruction of the tea
  • The Coercive Acts
  • The Quebec Act and the Intolerable Acts
  • Worked example: why punishing one colony united many
  • The Suffolk Resolves and the First Continental Congress
  • What the Congress decided
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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