colonists and Britain were the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts. In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, ordering the Boston harbor to be closed till the ruined tea to be paid for. The second Coercive Act made Massachusetts a royal colony, and restructured the government to be less democratic. The governor would elect the judges and sheriffs, and the upper house would be appointed by the royal governor for a life time sentence. There would also be no more than one town meeting per year. The last of the Coercive Acts instructed that any British soldier charged with murder will be tried in another colony or in Britain, and gave any empty buildings to be housed for troops. The Coercive Acts were the final push to the edge of rebellion, and the repeal of the acts became a nonnegotiable matter. Though the colonists were on the edge of rebellion, they were not all fully ready for a revolution.
763年至1776年间，英国的政策侧重于利用殖民地以殖民者认为违宪的方式增加收入。这些行为的改变和殖民者的反应是殖民者和议会之间关于税收原则的意志之战的开始。政策变化的开始是援助的令状。通过协助令是为了阻止走私，但这是一项一般的逮捕令，允许官员进入任何可能隐藏或不隐藏走私货物的船只。令状不需要扣押的事先证据；殖民者认为这侵犯了他们的宪法权利。援助令状还抛弃了传统的家庭隐私，因为大多数商人的企业都是以家庭为基础的。在对殖民者失去的援助令状进行审判的三年后，通过了《糖法》。《糖法案》旨在增加收入，是对《糖蜜法案》的修正案。《食糖法》还引入了新的复杂运输要求，并忽视了公平审判的概念。对涉嫌走私的人没有陪审团，在被证明无罪之前，嫌疑人被认为是有罪的。《糖法案》从未遭到强烈抵制，因为它并没有广泛影响到所有殖民地的每个人。然而，《印花税法》遭到强烈驳斥。由于《糖法案》未能缓解英国的金融债务，《印花税法案》得以通过。它迫使殖民者购买特殊的盖章纸作为遗嘱、报纸、文件和文凭。与《糖法案》不同的是，《印花税法案》将多次影响居住在任何殖民地的每个人。另一个主要区别是该税是一种内部税，而不是像《糖法案》那样的外部税。与《糖法案》类似，违法者将面临无陪审团的审判。随着《印花税法》的出台，向殖民地传播这一概念或虚拟代表的想法应运而生。虚拟代表是一种理论，认为所有英国主体都得到了考虑，议会将保护他们的福祉。殖民者否认了虚拟代表可以传播到殖民地的理论，他们认为该法案剥夺了他们的宪法权利。虚拟代表的概念和作为内部税收的法案导致殖民者抵制《印花税法》。作为对大抵抗的回应，议会废除了《印花税法》，但保留了《声明法》。殖民者错误地将《宣告法案》视为“挽回面子”的努力；然而，它的真正含义是，殖民者不能要求豁免任何议会雕像。由于殖民者对内部税收的强烈抵制，议会通过了汤森税，即增加收入的外部税收。新法律对进口到殖民地的某些物品征税，如玻璃、油漆、铅、纸张和茶。殖民者只接受对贸易征税作为一种监管形式，而不是增加英国收入的一种方式。增加收入并不是Townshend职责的唯一原因，另一个目标是用它来支付州长的工资。这将使英国能够从殖民者手中夺取钱包的控制权。作为对这项冒犯性法律的回应，马萨诸塞州发布了一封循环信，谴责在没有代表的情况下征税。尽管Townshend的职责是冒犯性的，但最终导致殖民者和英国之间关系致命破裂的行为是胁迫行为，或不可容忍行为。作为对波士顿茶党的回应，议会通过了《强制法案》，下令关闭波士顿港口，直到支付被毁坏的茶叶的费用。第二部《强制法案》使马萨诸塞州成为皇家殖民地，并对政府进行了重组，使其不那么民主。总督将选举法官和治安官，上院将由皇家总督任命，终身监禁。每年也不超过一次市镇会议。最后一项《强制法案》指示，任何被控谋杀的英国士兵都将在另一个殖民地或英国接受审判，并将任何空置的建筑留给士兵居住。《强制法案》是将叛乱推向边缘的最后一步，废除这些法案成为了一个不可协商的问题。尽管殖民者处于叛乱的边缘，但他们并没有完全做好革命的准备。
The majority of the colonists were extremely loyal to the crown, and only became “reluctant revolutionists” when there was no other choice. Before considering rebellion the colonists sent many letters pleading for negotiations, on Britain’s part, and reconciliation. Among these was the Olive Branch Petition. The Olive Branch Petition was an extremely polite “loyal message” that consisted of three demands: a cease fire at Boston, repeal of Coercive Acts, and negotiations to establish American rights. Despite the dismissal of the Olive Branch Petition, many colonists put the blame on “evil ministers” and not the king. Most hopped and expected that Britain would “come to their senses”, revoke the Coercive Acts and go back to the original British policies. However their hope diminished with the publication of “Common Sense.” This told the reluctant colonists what they couldn’t say, that the “monarchy was an institution rooted in superstition, dangerous to liberty and inappropriate to Americans.” Though the Declaration of Independence was written and war was declared about twenty percent of the colonists were loyalists. Even throughout the war many of the loyalists would side with the British troops.
大多数殖民者都非常忠于王室，只有在别无选择的情况下才成为“不情愿的革命家”。在考虑叛乱之前，殖民者发出了许多信件，请求英国方面进行谈判和和解。其中包括橄榄枝请愿书。橄榄枝请愿书是一个非常礼貌的“忠诚信息”，包括三项要求：在波士顿停火，废除《强制法案》，以及谈判建立美国人的权利。尽管橄榄枝请愿书被驳回，但许多殖民者将责任归咎于“邪恶的大臣”，而不是国王。大多数人跳起来，期待英国“恢复理智”，废除《强制法案》，回到英国最初的政策。然而，他们的希望随着《常识》的出版而破灭。这本书告诉了不情愿的殖民者他们不能说的话，即“君主制是一种植根于迷信的制度，对自由是危险的，对美国人来说是不合适的。”尽管《独立宣言》已经起草并宣布了战争，但大约20%的殖民者是效忠者。即使在整个战争期间，许多效忠者也会站在英国军队一边。
There was a crucial change in British policies after 1763. The previous policies were focused on salutary neglect and controlling trade to promote mercantilism. The British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 were focu
