Volumes and volumes of written work was emerging in the American colonies on the subject of British policies. Apart from major documents and publications, much writing had been produced as letters, pamphlets, and newspaper editorials. The arguments set forth in this way were at times very convincing. American patriots of the 1770s did not have modern means of communication at their disposal. To spread the power of the written word from town to town and colony to colony, Committees of Correspondence were established.

Confronting the National Debt: The Aftermath of the French and Indian War
The Stamp Act and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty
The Townshend Acts and Colonial Protest
The Destruction of the Tea and the Coercive Acts
Disaffection: The First Continental Congress and American Identity

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Describe the socio-political environment in the colonies in the early 1770s
Explain the purpose of the Tea Act of 1773 and discuss colonial reactions to it
Identify and describe the Coercive Acts