The British Parliament had certainly increased the tension in the colonies by levying a tax on tea and simultaneously establishing a monopoly for its sale, controlled by the East India Company. Boston, known for responding to parliamentary action aimed at raising taxes for the English coffers, reacted. The Boston Tea Party sent a swiftly delivered message to the British Crown that Boston merchants would not comply. A line that had already been drawn in the sand suddenly became a trench, and leaders on both sides of the Atlantic waited for the next confrontation.

They did not have to wait long.

The Trade Act of 1774 — known in the colonies as the Boston Port Act — was part of a five-piece legislative packet enacted by Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party. The British reaction to the “unloading” of tea into Boston Harbor was swift. King George III spoke to Parliament in March 1774, declaring that the residents of Boston were attempting to injure Britain’s economic leadership in the global market. Perhaps. But the second statement in his speech incensed colonists. The king accused the colonists of subverting the constitution, i.e. common law and the English Bill of Rights.

Imagine the reaction in the colonies when Parliament, encouraged by the king, outlawed Boston Harbor from “landing and discharging, loading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise” until the British treasury was “reimbursed” for the total cost of the destroyed tea. And if that was not enough, the Massachusetts seat of government would be relocated from Boston to Salem, and little-known Marblehead was now the only port available for shipping and receiving goods. Boston’s position as a major colonial port and center of political and economic power appeared to be past history.

In an interesting footnote, not all members of Parliament supported the bill. Edmund Burke and others opposed the action, but their voices were ignored as the Commons approved the bill and the House of Lords voted unanimously to punish “fiery” Boston. The Royal Navy began patrolling the mouth of Boston Harbor to discourage blockade runners. At the same time, the British Army based in Boston, led by General Thomas Gage, joined in enforcement.

Instead of decreasing the anger in the colonies regarding the violation of their “rights as Englishmen,” Parliament’s response had the opposite effect. From South Carolina to New Hampshire, sympathetic support manifested as supplies and goods were shipped to the town so that the residents would not suffer too greatly due to Parliament’s action. Closing Boston’s port was an important step in bringing the individual colonies into a new relationship — a united partnership — that would change the course of British history.

Of course, Bostonians did not sit quietly. June 1 was announced as a day of fasting and prayer. All across the city, bells rang out a toll of unity, flags were lowered to half-mast — a symbol still used today for sadness and distress — and houses draped their front doors in black cloth. In an interesting gesture, Boston was mourning the beginning of the end.

A summons went out to convene a gathering of the colonies in Philadelphia beginning in September 1774. Twelve of the colonies responded; only Georgia, dominated by loyalist sentiments, did not send delegates to the gathering.

The assembled First Continental Congress would meet for seven weeks and engaged in heated debates about a response to Britain’s treatment of the North American colonies. Each day began with prayer — at the request of Thomas Cushing and supported by Samuel Adams — and on the first day, Anglican Reverend Jacob Duche read the 35th Psalm and offered a prayer.

The scripture chosen read:

Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.

The assembled representatives agreed that the words were appropriate.

Within the next few days, the First Continental Congress would organize itself into a working body, determined to advance their cause as heirs to the “rights of Englishmen.”