Which of The Following Most Directly Led To The Calling of The First Continental Congress?
- Boston Massacre
- Stamp Act
- Boston Tea Party
- Intolerable Acts
Among the four above, the right answer is the Intolerable Acts. The Parliament of Great Britain passed 5 Intolerable Acts in 1774.
Those five acts included the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Quebec Act, Quartering Act, and Administration of Justice Act.
English Parliament brought these five laws specially to punish the people of Boston for the Boston tea party.
Even the laws were so vengeful to the people of the 13 colonies that they indirectly allowed English officials to commit crimes against the colonists. For this reason, American colonists named it the Intolerable Acts (Its official name was the Coercive Acts).
How Did Americans Respond To The Vengeful Laws?
Americans responded to the vengeful laws by calling the First Continental Congress. From September 5th to October 26th, 12 of the 13 British North American colonies came together to counter the bad laws.
The place was Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia. During the Congress session, all 12 colonies decided to create pressure on the English government to repeal the five laws.
To make that happen, they decided to boycott British commercial goods imports to the colonies. Even going one step further, they urged all the colonies to set up their militias for probable armed conflicts against English Red Coats (British army).
Did The First Continental Congress Gain Any Success?
In some cases, the First Continental Congress gain success in its intention. However, they failed to make English Parliament repeal the five punitive laws.
Congress’s Success:
1. Congress succeeded in unifying American colonies emotionally and politically. Although Georgia didn’t directly participate for some reason, they had full moral support for Congress.
2. Congress successfully implemented an economic boycott against Great Britain. By the end of 1775, the boycott reduced British goods’ imports to the colonies by over 97 percent.
Congress’s Failure
1. They failed to make English Parliament repeal the five punitive laws. In the end, this failure led the colonies to the Revolutionary War of Independence.
