Today in History: The Intolerable Acts

On this day (March 31) in 1774, Great Britain passed the Boston Port Act—one of the Intolerable Acts that helped to spark the American Revolution. The Act closed the port of Boston to all shipping as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. Parliament passed the act with overwhelming support, but the colonies considered it to be unconstitutional collective punishment. It sparked massive sympathy for radical Boston in the rest of the colonies and helped to unite the colonies in opposition to Britain and the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774 to formulate a joint response to the Intolerable Acts.