Committees of observation and inspection were officially charged with enforcing the Continental Association, and they also

A) took over the task of training and outfitting local militia groups.
B) encouraged open debate between loyalists and patriots.
C) established revolutionary tribunals that tried and executed dissidents.
D) established elaborate spy networks to identify opponents of the resistance movement.

Continental Association

An agreement adopted by the First Continental Congress in 1774 in response to the British Coercive Acts, implementing a trade boycott with Great Britain.

Committees of Observation

were bodies established by American colonists during the early stages of the Revolutionary War to enforce the boycott of British goods following the Townshend Acts and to spread the cause of liberty.

Revolutionary Tribunals

Courts established in revolutionary periods, especially noted during the French Revolution, to try enemies of the revolution swiftly and without the same procedural rights as regular courts.