by a mob and burned to the water's edge. The Boston "tea party" attracted most attention because the eyes of the ministry were fixed on Massachusetts.

The five

When the British Parliament met in March, 1774, the ministry realized that they had a serious crisis to face. They determined to repress the disorders in coercive acts America and adopted five coercive measures: of 1774 (1) The port of Boston was closed and the customhouse moved to Salem. English warships were ordered to be stationed before Boston for the purpose of maintaining the blockade. (2) The Massachusetts government was reorganized so as to take away from the people many of the powers of selfgovernment which they had hitherto exercised. (3) Crown officers or magistrates accused of murder or other capital offenses were to be sent by the governor to some other colony or to England for trial, if he thought that a fair trial could not be had in the province. (4) The quartering of troops upon the inhabitants of the colonies was legalized. (5) The fifth statute was the so-called Quebec Act, by the terms of which the territory northwest of the Ohio River was annexed to the province of Quebec. These measures were carried through Parliament by a very large majority. Chatham in the House of Lords and Burke and Fox in the House of Commons spoke against them in

vain. Charles Fox's brother, Stephen, also spoke against the measures. He said: "We are either to treat the Americans as subjects or as rebels. If we treat them as subjects, the bill goes too far; if as rebels, it does not go far enough."

propose a

The Boston port bill was to go into effect June 1. This measure especially created general indignation throughout the colonies. The first action was taken by Members of Virginia. On May 24, 1774, the House of Bur- the Virginia Assembly gesses adopted a set of resolutions drafted by Thomas Jefferson, setting aside June 1 "as a general conday of fasting, humiliation, and prayer; devoutly gress, 1774 to implore the divine interposition, for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights, and the evils of civil war; to give us one heart and one mind firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to American rights; and that the mind of His Majesty and his Parliament may be inspired from above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from the loyal people of America all cause of danger from a continued pursuit of measures pregnant with their ruin." As a result of these resolutions Lord Dunmore dissolved the house, but the members met unofficially in the Raleigh Tavern and adopted a resolution recommending an annual congress of all the colonies.

The first

Continental

The suggestion of Virginia met with a cordial response. Delegates to the Congress were selected in various ways. In Pennsylvania and Rhode Island they were chosen by the legislature; in Massachusetts by the lower house; in Connecticut by the com- Congress, mittee of correspondence; in South Carolina by a public meeting of the inhabitants of the province held at Charleston; in New Hampshire, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina by local conventions of town or county. New York was not fully

September

5, 1774

represented, and Georgia sent no delegates at all. When Massachusetts elected her delegates, June 17, she suggested that the Congress convene in Philadelphia on the first of September, thus completing the call issued by Virginia.

This body, which is known as the first Continental Congress, began its work in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. Among the fifty-five delegates were many men destined to fame: John Adams and Samuel Adams from Massachusetts; Stephen Hopkins from Rhode Island; Roger Sherman and Silas Deane from Connecticut; James Duane and John Jay from New York; Joseph Galloway, John Dickinson, and Thomas Mifflin from Pennsylvania; Cæsar Rodney, George Read, and Thomas McKean from Delaware; Henry Middleton, Christopher Gadsden, and the two Rutledges from South Carolina; and from Virginia, Peyton Randolph, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington.

Measures adopted by the Congress

Peyton Randolph was elected president of the Congress and the sessions were held behind closed doors. No record of the proceedings was kept. On October 14 a series of resolutions was adopted, known as the Declaration and Resolves. In these resolutions the grievances of the colonies were stated at length and their rights asserted. On October 20, the Congress adopted a nonimportation and nonexportation agreement as the most effectual means of securing a redress of grievances. They agreed that after the first of the following December they would not import any goods or merchandise from Great Britain or Ireland; nor would they export goods to Great Britain, Ireland, or the West Indies after September 10, 1775. They also agreed to discontinue entirely the slave trade. Besides these two important measures the Congress drew up a petition to the king, an address to the people of Great Britain, and a memorial to the

people of the colonies. They also issued an invitation to the people of Canada to send delegates to the Congress which was called for the following year.

The block

Meanwhile all eyes were turned to Boston, which was occupied by British troops and blockaded by a British fleet. In October Washington said that independence was not "desired by any thinking man ade of in all North America," but he regarded the attack on Massachusetts as an outrage and said: "I will raise one thousand men, sub

sist them at my own
expense, and march my-
self at their head for
the relief of Boston."
At the beginning of the
blockade General Gage
had succeeded Hutchin-
son as governor and
assumed personal com-
mand of the troops at
Boston. In October the
delegates elected to the
assembly, disregarding
his proclamation counter-
manding the call for its
meeting, met at Salem
at the appointed time
and resolved themselves
into a provincial con-
gress with John Hancock as president.

Boston

During January and February, 1775, American affairs occupied most of the time of Parliament. Chatham introduced his scheme for conciliation and Burke delivered his great speech. In March the restraining act was passed confining the trade of New England to Great Britain, Ireland,

and the British West Indies. Generals William Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne were sent to reënforce Gage, while Lord Howe, the brother of the general, was put in command of the naval forces in America.

The situation around Boston was intolerable and a conflict inevitable. On the night of April 18, General Gage sent a small

The battle of

Lexington, force under

Concord, a village eighteen miles northwest of Boston. The secret object of the expedition leaked out, and Paul Revere made his famous ride to give the alarm. When the troops reached Lexington about daylight they found sixty or seventy minutemen under Captain Parker drawn up near the church. Major Pitcairn ordered the provincials to lay down their arms; they refused, and the regulars

began firing, according to the American account, though Major Pitcairn to the day of his death insisted that the Americans fired first. Eight Americans were killed and ten others wounded.

The British continued their march to Concord, where they destroyed such stores as they could find, and started back to Boston. They found themselves, however, attacked on flank