Intolerable Acts:
1. Closed Boston Harbor
2. Ended Self Government
3. Strengthened Quartering Act
4. British Officials on Trial in England

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​The Road to Philadelphia

The Attendance: 56 delegates from 12 out of 13 colonies attended; Georgia stayed home.
High Stakes: The meeting was secret because delegates could be arrested for treason if the King found out.

The Results: They wrote a "Declaration of Rights," organized a total boycott of British goods called the Continental Association, and set a follow-up meeting for May 1775.
Identity Shift: This was the first time colonists began to call themselves "Americans" instead of just New Yorkers or Virginians.

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​The First Continental Congress

​Beliefs: Believed in "No Taxation Without Representation" and that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

Leaders: Patrick Henry (who said, "Give me liberty, or give me death!") and John Adams.

​​Patriots

​Who They Were: Often frontier farmers far from the cities or Quakers whose religion forbade fighting in any war.

Motivations: Many were simply afraid of losing their homes or being charged with treason if they picked the losing side.

​​Middle

Beliefs: Believed the King was the legal ruler and that the British Empire provided safety and trade.

View of Patriots: Saw them as law-breaking "mobs" and feared that independence would lead to chaos.

​​Loyalists