March 31, 1774:Boston Port Act
The Boston Port Act (the Trade Act 1774) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and is one of the measures (variously called the Intolerable Acts, the Punitive Acts or the Coercive Acts) that were designed to secure Great Britain's jurisdictions over her American dominions. The Act was a response to the Boston Tea Party. King George III's speech of 7 March 1774 charged the colonists with attempting to injure British commerce and subvert the Constitution. It outlawed the use of the Port of Boston (by setting up a barricade/blockade) for "landing and discharging, loading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise" until such time as restitution was made to the King's treasury (for customs duty lost) and to the East India Company for damages suffered. In other words, it closed Boston Port to all ships, no matter what business the ship had.
May 20, 1774: Administration of Justice Act
An act for or the impartial administration of justice in the cases of persons questioned for any acts done by them in the execution of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults, in the province of the Massachuset's Bay, in New England. The act granted a change of venue to another British colony or Great Britain in trials of officials charged with a crime growing out of their enforcement of the law or suppression of riots. Witnesses for both sides were also required to attend the trial and were to be compensated for their expenses.
May 20, 1774: Massachusetts Government Act
An act for better regulating the government of the province of the Massachuset's Bay, in New England. Parliament launched a legislative offensive against Massachusetts to control its errant behavior. British officials believed that their inability to control Massachusetts was rooted in part in the highly independent nature of its local government.
June 2, 1774: Quartering Act
A new and revised act of the Quartering Act of 1765. The new Quartering Act similarly allowed a governor to house soldiers in other buildings,such as: barns, inns, among other unoccupied structures, if suitable quarters were not provided. It did not have the same legislation as in the previous Act, that soldiers be supplied with provisions. The amendments made also created the requirement for the housing of troops to be a mutual agreement between the parties involved.
June 22, 1774: Quebec Act
The Quebec Act of 1774 was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain, setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. The principal components of the act were:
- The province's territory was expanded to take over part of the Indian Reserve, including much of what is now southern Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota.
- The oath of allegiance was replaced with one that no longer made reference to the Protestant faith.
- It guaranteed free practice of the Catholic faith.
- It restored the use of the French civil law for private matters while maintaining the use of the English common law for public administration, including criminal prosecution.
- Restored the Catholic church's right to impose tithes.
March 23, 1775: Patrick Henry's Famous Speech
Delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. Henry's opponents urged caution and patience until the crown replied to Congress' latest petition for reconciliation. On the 23rd, Henry presented a proposal to organize a volunteer company of cavalry or infantry in every Virginia county. By custom, Henry addressed himself to the Convention's president, Peyton Randolph of Williamsburg. Henry's words were not transcribed, but no one who heard them forgot their eloquence, or Henry's closing words: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
April 18, 1775: The Rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes
On this day in 1775, British troops march out of Boston on a mission to confiscate the American arsenal at Concord and to capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington. As the British departed, Boston Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on horseback from the city to warn Adams and Hancock and rouse the Minutemen.