Lindsey Graham

But Boston's defiance would not go unchecked.

Instead, the British moved quickly to reassert their authority and crack down on colonial resistance.

In the spring of 1774, Britain's response to the Boston Tea Party was swift and harsh.

In March, Prime Minister Lord Frederick North stood before Parliament and declared Boston the ringleader of all violence in opposition to the execution of the laws of this country.

And to punish Massachusetts and set an example for the other colonies, Parliament passed a series of laws known as the Coercive Acts.

First, Parliament closed Boston's port until the town paid for the tea they destroyed.

And by preventing ships from going in and out, the law threatened to paralyze the local economy.

Another measure permitted the British Army to quarter soldiers in private homes.

And in a major affront to Massachusetts' proud history of local governance, Parliament revoked the colony's charter and banned most public meetings.

To enforce these new laws, King George III appointed General Thomas Gage, the commander of the British Army in America, as royal governor of Massachusetts and made him responsible for appointing all judges, magistrates, and sheriffs.

Gage was on leave in London when the news broke of the Boston Tea Party.

In meeting with the king, he advised him that Americans will be lions whilst we are lambs, but if we take the resolute part, they will undoubtedly prove very meek.

King George was persuaded that a little show of force would go a long way in bringing the colonies to heel, so he sent Gage back to Boston with four fresh regiments of soldiers.

But this new strategy quickly backfired.

While the coercive acts were designed to isolate Massachusetts and intimidate the other colonies into submission, instead, they brought the colonies closer together.

And the attack on Massachusetts was seen as an attack on all, and across America the measures were denounced under a new name, the Intolerable Acts.

A group of Maryland landowners spoke for many when they declared that Boston was suffering in the common cause of America.

Support poured in from other colonies.

The Virginia Colonial Assembly declared a day of fasting and prayer in solidarity.

Many communities sent food and supplies to Boston, where the closure of the port raised the specter of widespread hunger.