Editing Intolerable Acts (section)

==Effects==
{{See also|American Revolutionary War#Background and political developments}}
Many colonists saw the Intolerable Acts as a violation of their [[British Constitution|constitutional rights]], their [[natural rights]], and their colonial charters. They, therefore, viewed the acts as a threat to the liberties of all of British America, not just Massachusetts. Legislation denouncing the act (the [[Loudoun Resolves|Loudoun]] and [[Fairfax resolves]]) was swift, and [[Richard Henry Lee]] of Virginia described the acts as "a most wicked System for destroying the liberty of America".{{sfn|Ammerman|1974|p=15}}

The citizens of Boston viewed the Intolerable Acts as unnecessary and cruel punishment, further inflaming hatred toward Britain. Even more Bostonians turned against British rule.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Gary B.|last1=Nash|first2=Carter|last2=Smith|title=Atlas Of American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyzmAJfLKs8C&pg=PA64|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|page=64|isbn=978-1438130132}}</ref>

Great Britain hoped that the Intolerable Acts would isolate radicals in Massachusetts and cause American colonists to concede the authority of Parliament over their elected assemblies. The calculated risk backfired: the harshness of some of the acts made it difficult for colonial moderates to speak in favor of Parliament.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Knight|title=Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMIDrggs8TsC&pg=PA184|year=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|pages=184–185|isbn=978-1576078129}}</ref> Instead, the acts only served to distance the colonies from the Crown, create sympathy for Massachusetts and encourage colonists from the otherwise diverse colonies to form [[committees of correspondence]] which sent delegates to the [[First Continental Congress]]. The Continental Congress created the [[Continental Association]], an agreement to boycott British goods. Additionally, it was decided that if the Intolerable Acts were not reversed after a year, goods were to stop being exported to Great Britain as well. The Congress also pledged to support Massachusetts in case of attack, which meant that all of the colonies would become involved when the [[American Revolutionary War]] began at [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Harlow G.|last=Unger|title=American Tempest: How the Boston Tea Party Sparked a Revolution|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306819629|url-access=registration|year= 2011|publisher=Da Capo Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306819629/page/188 188]–193|isbn=978-0306819766}}</ref>