The Augusta Resolves and the Declaration of Independence

Staunch Virginians pave the way for one of our country’s most important documents.

A reconstructed chamber of the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, Va. From 1619 to 1776, The House of Burgesses was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly and played an important role in pre-Revolutionary Virginia politics. Photo_Time/Shutterstock

In retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament responded by passing five punitive laws in 1774. Known as the Coercive Acts, also referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Intolerable Acts, these measures aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest, stripping them from self-governance.

Seeking to quell resistance to British authority, the British Parliament instead awakened a sleeping giant. The implications of their laws reverberated throughout America’s western frontier. The Coercive Acts became the impetus that led to the development of the Revolutionary War.