Mr. Cadenhead - 7th Grade Social Studiesp. 1 of 2
The “Intolerable Acts”, Samuel Seabury and the Continental Congress
Name: ______Date: ______Class #: ______
Document #1 (non-fiction): The “Intolerable Acts”, Samuel Seabury and the Continental Congress
(Adapted by Mr. Cadenhead from “The First Continental Congress: The Patriots React To The Intolerable Acts”, )
- Sons of Liberty: Patriotic organization that fought for the American independence from Britain
- Intolerable: too terrible to be accepted or tolerated
- Act: another word for a law
- Rebel: a person who fights against a government
- Port: a place where ships unload cargo (supplies)
- Colony: an area controlled by a far away country
- New England: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire
- Quartering: to provide (someone) with a place to stay for a usually short period of time
- Inn: Hotel and tavern (bar), run by an innkeeper
- Royal Governor: Person appointed by the King of England to rule in his place
- Continental Congress:
- Boycott: to refuse to buy, use, or participate in (something) as a way of protesting
- Revolution: the violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one
- Movement: many people working together to do or achieve something
King George’s “Intolerable Acts”: When news of the Sons of Liberty’s destruction of valuable British tea during the Boston Tea Party reached England, King George III was outraged. With the people of Boston openly rebelling against his authority, he decided the only thing to do was to punish them and force them into submission. The result was a series of laws or “acts” passed in 1774 that came to be known in America as the “Intolerable Acts”. The Intolerable Acts had a huge negative impact on the daily lives people living in Boston and elsewhere in the Massachusetts colony.
The first act, which was called the “BostonPort Bill”, closed off the port of Boston. This meant that no ships could travel into or out of the city. Bostonhad been one of the richest cities in America. This meant they could no longer conduct trade and had trouble bringing food or other supplies into the city. A year later the king passed another law that made it illegal for colonists to fish in ocean waters near New England, cutting off a critical fishing ground and food source for the people of Massachusetts, Rhode Island Connecticut and New Hampshire.
The second Intolerable Act, called the “Massachusetts Government Act” took even more power away from the people of Massachusetts and gave it to the king. Only the king’s Royal Governor could make decisions affecting the people of Massachusetts and it became illegal for the people to have town meetings or to elect local politicians.
The third Intolerable Act, the “Quartering Act”, wasprobably the most upsetting to the people of Boston. To make sure that people obeyed his new laws, King George III sent many armed soldiers to Boston. The Quartering Act stated that the people of Boston had to allow soldiers to sleep in their beds until peace and order were restored, whether they liked it or not(today people might call itthe “Home Invasion Act”). For many of the citizens of the colonies this was simply too much to take.
The Continental Congress: Unfortunately for England and King George III, his plan backfired. Instead of calming things down, people got even angrier. To make matters worse, people in other American colonies (like New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia) began to feel sorry for Massachusetts. The 13 American colonies had always been very different places and they didn’t always get along with each other. But now, for the first time, they all began to feel angry about the same thing: They all hated the way King George was treating the people of the Massachusetts colony.
People in the colonies began to openly discuss the idea of independence from England. On September 5th 1774, all the colonies (except Georgia) sent representatives to meet in the First Continental Congress. At first it looked like the Congress might be a failure; all the representatives did was argue with each other and they couldn’t seem to agree about what to do. But eventually, on October 14th, 1774 they reached a historic agreement to do two things: First, they agreedto protest the Intolerable Acts by boycotting British goods. Next they did something quite shocking: They threatened to start a revolutionif King George did not begin to take their demands seriously.
Seabury vs. Hamilton: While some leaders in the colonies supported the ContinentalCongress, others feared that war would lead to disaster. Englandstill had the most powerful army in the world, and the colonies had no army at all. Men such as Samuel Seabury ofNew Yorkwrote letters to New York newspapers urging the people of America not to support the Continental Congress and to stay loyal to the King of England. He thought it was foolish to start a fight with England when the American colonies had no way to defend themselves.
A young New York patriot named Alexander Hamilton (then only 19 years old), took up the challenge of arguing against Samuel Seabury. Hamilton and Seabury exchanged several angry letters with each other that were published in the New York Newspapers. Who won this battle of words? It’s hard to say, but Alexander Hamilton’s letters were so cleverly written that(despite his very young age) he began to develop a reputation as a leader of the revolutionary movement. Eventually, Alexander Hamilton’s growing reputation caught the attention of the man the Continental Congress had chosen to lead the colonial army in the war with England: General George Washington.
/ Encourage the people of Massachusetts to compromise / / The Royal Governor of Massachusetts is forced to work for less money
/ Give all power over the people of Massachusetts to the King’s governor / / A New York trading ship is unable to travel up the Hudson River
/ Reduce the size of public meetings / / A Boston fisherman is unable to put food on the table for his family
/ Take away the people’s right to vote in the British parliament / / A Boston innkeeper is forced to let solders stay for free
3 / Which of the following individuals would have been most affected by the Quartering Act? / 4 / Which of the following statement would most like have been made by Samuel Seabury?
/ The captain of a large tea-trading ship / / “It is madness to provoke England without a well organized army to defend ourselves”
/ A family of 14 living in downtown New York / / “The King has no right to tax us without allowing us to vote”
/ The keeper of a small inn in Boston / / “America will be free only when the people prove they are willing to fight for it”
/ The Royal Governor of Massachusetts / / “New Yorkers should care more about what happens in Boston”
Short Response Question: How would you have felt about the Intolerable Acts if you were living in Americain 1774? Give two examplesfrom the text to support your answer.
7 Point
Grading Rubric / ______
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Claim: 1 Points:
Claim is clearly stated
(author answers the question)
Evidence #1:
1 Point:
Author provides first relevant detail from the article in his/her own words (not copied from the text)
Evidence #2:
1 Point:
Author provides second relevant detail
Evidence #3:
1 Point:
Author provides third relevant detail
____ Flopsie Test (1-3 Points):
3 pts: Flopsie Gets it
2 pts: Flopsie’s a little confused
1 point: Flopsie’s lost