Ever since the beginnings of settlement, England and America had been growing apart. England was still an aristocracy, ruled by men born and bred to a high station in life. The society was one of culture and refinement. Deprived of abundant opportunity at home, the common people accepted a position of dependence rather than independence. But in America, things had gone differently. The society was rather democratic. There were no lords or hereditary officers. "The wilderness had attracted men of independent spirit, and the stern conditions of the frontier had bred self-reliance and self-respect." (*) The New World made men enterprising, energetic, and aggressive.

The distance between the colonists and England was as equally wide as their political thinking. British statesmen believed that Parliament had complete authority over the colo

In response to the Intolerable Acts, the colonies set up a Continental Congress, in which they tried to force Great Britain to stop. Nearly all the delegates who attended its first meeting at Philadelphia in 1774 were members of local committees of correspondence, and many of them had been selected by the provincial congresses. The Congress denounced parliamentary taxation and the five Intolerable Acts. "It signed a Continental Association, intended to destroy all trade with England if the British did not yield. The Congress prepared to enforce this agreement by means of the local committees." (*) Consequently, England did not regard its acts as legal. When the Congress attempted to force everybody to follow a certain course of action, it functioned as a powerless government. The Colonial leaders had now separated into two groups, the Patriots who were willing to accept the Congress as their guide, and the Loyalists, who counseled submission to Parliament decrees.

Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party with the five "Intolerable Acts." The acts closed the port of Boston to all shipping until all the destroyed tea was paid for. "They declared British soldiers and officials immune from court trials for acts committed while suppressing civil disturbances" (164 Text). Parliament modified the Massachusetts charter, by taking away the lower house's privilege of electing the upper legislative chamber. Instead, the governor appointed the members to the chamber. The fourth measure allowed the Massachusetts governor to quarter soldiers at Boston in taverns or any other empty building. Finally, it extended the boundaries of the province of Quebec to the Ohio River. It also gave the Roman Catholics in the province both religious liberty and the double protection of French and English Law. In conclusion, the Intolerable Acts took away many highly prized rights of self-government.

The colonists had many intellectual themes that they used to create their political theories. Enlightenment, was a theory that meant that the colonies were emerging from centuries of darkness and ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and a respect for humanity. Not all believed in just one theory. Some said that the Enlightenment theory was a "delusion." (278, Text) Another theory that was looked upon was the theory of Natural Law. This theory was based on what were assumed to be the permanent characteristics of human nature that could serve as a standard evaluating conduct of civil laws. Also, Whig Ideology who printed many works that railed agai

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Approximate Word count = 1748
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)