Episode 043: Colonies React to the Coercive Acts

American Revolution Podcast

Michael Troy

History, Education

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2018

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Gen. Gage travels to Boston to replace Hutchinson as the new Governor of Massachusetts. The tough talking Gage had assured officials in London he could use firmness to enforce colonial compliance with the Coercive Acts, most of which were still under debate when he left London. Gage soon discovers that the threat of force only goads the heavily armed colonsits to threaten force of their own. Gage soon finds himself behind barricades in Boston, having lost control of the rest of the colony. The Port of Boston is closed, but other changes mandated by London cannot be enforced outside of Boston. Over the summer and fall of 1774, Massachusetts and the other colonies only hear more news of intolerable acts passed in London. Calls for cutting off all trade with England entirely leads to the call for a Continental Congress to discuss colonial options in developing a united response. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an airwave media podcast. Hello, and thank you for joining the American Revolution. Today, episode 43, colonial reaction to the
0:22.0	coercive acts.
0:24.0	Last week I discussed the coercive acts that Lord North and Parliament
0:28.0	decided would finally cow the colonists into submission and show them who was boss.
0:34.2	This week we'll take a look at how that worked in practice.
0:38.9	As Lord North was passing the coercive acts in the spring of 1774.
0:43.8	He knew he would need a strong hand in the colonies to enforce them.
0:48.2	He decided to replace Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson with General
0:52.8	Thomas Gage, the military commander of North America.
0:57.2	I have discussed Gage's exploits in America
0:59.8	in previous episodes and gave a background on him way back in episode 19
1:05.0	when he succeeded General Amherst as military commander of North America.
1:10.0	But now might be a good time for a refresher.
1:14.0	The second son of an English Viscount, Gage joined the Army at age 20 in time to fight in the
1:19.6	war of Austrian succession.
1:22.2	He came to North America with General Braddock in 1754. Four years later he
1:27.8	found time to marry a Jersey girl, Margaret Campbell, and start a family in America.
1:33.7	He continued to serve throughout the French and Indian War, fighting under General Amherst when he
1:38.7	defeated the French and Canada in 1760. He then became military governor of Montreal. When Amherst returned to
1:47.1	England in 1763, Gage became the new North American commander just in time to clean up the mess of Pontiac's rebellion.
1:56.4	He spent the next decade as commander, much of it living in New York City.
2:01.6	In total, Gage had served in North America for nearly 20 years. In 1773 he returned
	...

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