Britain Overreacted

Britain's response was swift and severe. Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (colonists called them the Intolerable Acts), which shut down Boston Harbor, dissolved Massachusetts' elected government, and forced colonists to house British soldiers.

This was a catastrophic miscalculation. Instead of isolating Boston, the Intolerable Acts united all thirteen colonies against Britain. Other colonies sent food and supplies to blockaded Boston. The First Continental Congress met in September 1774 — a direct result of Britain's overreaction.