Advanced Placement US History (AP US History) Practice Exam

What was the primary reason for the passage of the Intolerable Acts?

1. To punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party

2. To establish British military control in the colonies

3. To secure trade routes in the colonies

4. To encourage colonists to support the Revolutionary War

The correct answer is: To punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party

The primary reason for the passage of the Intolerable Acts was indeed to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. Following the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, in which colonists, protesting against the Tea Act, dumped a significant amount of tea into Boston Harbor, the British government sought to demonstrate its authority and quell further acts of defiance. The Intolerable Acts, enacted in 1774, comprised several measures that aimed to reassert control over the Massachusetts colony and to deter other colonies from similar acts of rebellion. The series of laws included the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for, the Massachusetts Government Act, which limited town meetings and reorganized the Massachusetts government structure, the Administration of Justice Act, which allowed royal officials to be tried outside the colonies, and the Quartering Act, which required colonists to house British troops. Together, these legislations were designed to punish Massachusetts specifically and serve as a warning to the other colonies regarding the consequences of defiance against British authority. The other options do touch on aspects of British colonial policy, but they do not capture the direct punitive intent behind the Intolerable Acts. Establishing military control, securing trade routes, or encouraging support for