What Event Prompted The Formation of The First Continental Congress?
| Answer In Short: The Imposition of The 5 Intolerable Acts On The 13 North American Colonies Was the Main Event, Which Prompted Them For The Formation of The First Continental Congress.
Read In The Following To Learn More, Why & How?… |
Question for you – what was the main immediate event that prompted American colonists for the First Continental Congress?
If you don’t have the answer to this question, then no need to worry. Because I have it and I will explain it to you in-depth, step by step.
So, let’s dive right in.
Description 1 – What Event Prompted The Formation of The First Continental Congress?
The event was none other than but the five Intolerable Acts imposed by the Parliament of Great Britain on the colonists of the 13 North American colonies.
Most of the acts targeted all the people of the 13 colonies. Specifically, the laws were punitive to the people of Boston (or Bostonians), Massachusetts province.
But again, the two primary questions are, why the English Parliament passed the acts and why they mainly targeted Boston city or Massachusetts province?
The British Parliament imposed these laws as an act of revenge for the Boston Tea Party incident of 16th December 1773.
At that time, Boston became the center of the growing American Revolution and the Tea Party took place in the city.
Therefore, to contain the revolution and punish Bostonians for the happening, they especially targeted the city.
The British Parliament passed all these laws throughout the year 1774.
For the British government, these were Coercive Acts; but American colonists named them Intolerable acts, due to their unjust rules.
They believed, those laws were violating their rights of living like other British citizens of the mainland (colonists still considered themselves as British citizens).
Description Part 2 – What Were The Acts & How They Lead Towards The Formation of The First Congress?
These five acts were:
- Boston Port Act
- Massachusetts Government Act
- Administration of Justice Act
- Quartering Act
- Quebec Act
All these laws were a big threat to the security and the existence of the colonists; because these laws were badly violating their rights of being British citizens.
(Let me tell you before the American Revolution began, colonists considered themselves as British citizens)
Therefore to create pressure on the British King George III and the Parliament, 12 of the 13 American colonies came together in a meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the 5th September to 26th October 1774.
And the meeting where the delegates came together was none other but the First Continental Congress.
How The Five Laws Were Violating Colonists’ Rights?
1. Boston Port Act: Boston Port Act was created to close all the trades that happened through Boston Harbor.
Under the rules of this act, the English Parliament demanded the people of Boston to pay all the compensations to the British East India Company for the loss during the Boston Tea Party.
Even this act was so humiliating to accept for the colonists because it demanded them to apologize to the British King George III for their guilt.
Colonists believed these mad demands can’t be accepted under any circumstances; because only 116 people executed the incident, but not all the common people of the Boston city.
2. Massachusetts Government Act: Massachusetts Government Act was created to abrogate the Massachusetts Charter of 1691.
In simple words, the act arrogated the rights of the Massachusetts people to effectively participate in their own provisional government and administration system.
This act gave wide-ranging powers to the Royally appointed Governor and officials.
3. Administration of Justice Act: Infamous as Murdering Act, this one encouraged Royally appointed English officials to commit crimes against colonists and run away to any other part of the British Empire.
4. Quartering Act: 1774’s Quartering Act was 1765’s second version.
This one allowed British troops in the colonies to find shelter at colonists’ private homes during the time of peace and war.
Even the act privileged English troops to forcefully occupy colonists’ private homes.
5. Quebec Act: Quebec Act intended to increase British Canada’s Quebec province’s land segment towards the 13 colonies’ midwest direction.
This was an unacceptable decision for the colonists.
Also, the act tried increasing religious distances between Christian Catholics and Protestants.
Conclusion
See? How the acts were punitive to the people of the 13 colonies?
Now, I hope you have got your answer on what event prompted the formation of the First Continental Congress.
Still, have any questions?
Please comment below. I will try to answer it.
