The Intolerable Acts
Parliament's response to the Boston
Tea Party was to punish the entire
colony of Massachusetts by passing
a series of laws the colonists called
the Intolerable Acts. Among these,
the Boston Port Act closed the harbor
until the tea was paid for. Another
law expanded Britain's authority
over Massachusetts by suspending
the colonial assembly. Additionally,
trials of British officials accused of
murder would be moved to other
colonies or Britain itself. Finally, a
revised quartering act allowed British
soldiers to be housed in privately
owned buildings. The revised law did
not require soldiers to be housed in
private homes, however, as is commonly
believed.
Steps Toward
Independence
During the tea controversy,
South Carolina began creating what
would eventually become its first
state government. Because of the
Wilkes standoff, the colony had no
real representative government. Other
colonies, such as Massachusetts and
Virginia, had assemblies that led the
way in resisting British policies, but
South Carolina did not.
A General Meeting
On July 6, 1774, delegates from
throughout South Carolina met in
Charles Town for the first General
Meeting. Representatives of the General
Meeting created a smaller group, called
the General Committee of 99, which
would conduct government business
whenever the General Meeting was
not in session. The committee included
69 planters,15 merchants, and 15
craftsmen. Although royal officials
continued to govern, most colonists
ignored them and shifted their loyalty
to these new governing bodies.
The General Meeting also elected
five men to represent South Carolina
at the First- Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. Colonial leaders called
for this special meeting in response
to the Intolerable Acts. Three of the
five delegates to this meeting had
represented South Carolina at the
Stamp Act Congress=-Christopher
Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, and John
Rutledge. Henry Middleton and
Rutledge's brother Edward joined them.
Representatives from
most of the colonies
met in Philadelphia
during the First
Continental Congress.
What were some of the
issues discussed?
I,
I
The First Continental Congress
While the Intolerable Acts appliedonly to Massachusetts, colonists in
every colony feared the same could
happen to them. As a result, all the
colonies except for Georgia sent
delegates to Philadelphia in September
of 1774 to discuss what should be
done. This meeting was called the
First Continental Congress. Wh~n the
president of the Continental Congress
had to step down, delegates elected
Henry Middleton to replace him.
Middleton signed all the documents sent
to Britain, including a petition of rights
and grievances.
Congressional delegates wanted
Parliament to overtun every law
affecting the colonies that had been
passed since 1763. To force their
demands, they agreed to a boycott of
all British goods. If this policy, known
as the Continental Association, failed
to convince the king and Parliament to
repeal the laws, the colonies would stop
shipping American goods to Britain or
its Caribbean Islands.
th Carolina in the American Revolution
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