Capitol History Research Paper

In 1765 the Stamp Act was passed and colonists had various reactions to these acts. The Stamp Act was an act created by the British. This was to pay off the debt they had from the French and Indian War. Items that were taxed were newspapers, dice, legal documents, and playing cards. Basically all printed goods were taxed. Colonists that wrote

     The passing of the Stamp Act by Parliament in 1765 caused a rush of angry protests by the colonists in British America that perhaps "aroused and unified Americans as no previous political event ever had." It levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other form of paper used in the colonies. Adding to this hardship was the need for the tax to be paid in British sterling, not in colonial paper money. Although this duty had been in effect in England for over half a century and was already in effect in several colonies in the 1750?s, it called into question the authority of Parliament over the overseas colonies that had no representation therein.

Did you hear about the taxes that were put on many of our papers. On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the “Stamp Act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years’ War. It required the colonists' to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various papers, documents, and playing cards. They had colonists pay for British soldiers to stay in their homes. They put a lot of taxes on tea also.

Most were outraged and spoke out against the injustice such as in the speech by Patrick Henry when he states, “We can under law be taxed only by our representatives. We have no representatives in the British Parliament...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it...King George is a tyrant” (Document 1). Speeches like this inspired the patriots to rise up and take action against the law. Many smuggled goods such as newspapers and letters while others made propaganda against the British. Colonists began protesting publicly and called much attention to the problem facing the colonies which the British did not like at all. The colonists showed so much revolt against the tax that the British Parliament repealed it only a year after it was passed. That battle had been won by the colonists but the war was yet to

In May of 1765, Patrick Henry addressed the issue of the Stamp Act to the Virginia House of Burgesses. In Patrick Henry’s speech he

When the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed in the Thirteen Colonies, the colonists were compelled to rethink their loyalty and standing with the British monarchy. The Stamp Act would be the first actual tax levied upon the colonists, which caused outrage in the Thirteen Colonies. The act would place a tax on any document and printed paper that they used: such as legal documents, newspapers, and licenses. All thirteen colonies did not agree that the tax was passed with legality and refused to acknowledge that such tax existed. They would all band together to ensure that the Stamp Act would be repealed and would become nonexistent.

Prior to the revolution, the American Colonies consisted of several self-governing structures. The first “miniature parliament” was the House of Burgesses, which was the first assembly of settlers that formed a legislative. It could create laws and levy taxes, but ultimately was not centralized to all the colonies. After the revolution, Congress established the Articles of Confederation. According to the US Department of State, “the Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States.

On the other hand, the Stamp Act has a different and a direct effect on the colonies. The objective of the act is to tax legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, playing cards, and nearly every form of paper used in the colonies. This seems to be a threat to the American constitutional rights. Therefore, colonial agents in London and lieutenants Governor oppose to the Stamp Act, including Franklin saying that “It will affect the printers more that anybody”.

In 1765, the British Prime Minister Grenville passed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act obliged the colonists to purchase particular stamps to put on paper utilized for business or legal documents, newspapers, deeds, and pamphlets. This law was seen as the first time that Parliament was not trying to control the trade of the colonies but was attempting to obtain funds to get out of debt. At that point, in time, Great Britain obviously wanted an income from the American Colonists. Documents were used often; therefore, the prime minister was clever in placing a tax on paper. The colonists relied on paper documents and they had developed an economy based on written and legal documents, pamphlets, and many transcribed documents. As a result, of the Stamp Act the majority of the colonists objected. The Stamp Act also resulted in a high resentment of monarchy and distant rulings that would lead to conflict. Even though this tax would be seen as usual to the British, it was an inexperienced idea for the majority of the colonists. The idea of being taxed for paper was strange and unknown by the colonists. This tax was a major checkpoint for the American Revolutionary

“Give me liberty or give me death!” This statement from Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” delivered to the House of Burgesses, has been quoted by many, becoming almost cliché. However, the declaration is truly understood by a select few. The unjust Stamp Act passed by the British crown in 1765, brought fame and notoriety to Henry as he spoke out against the unjust taxation without representation. Ten years later on the eve of revolution, Henry calls upon the Colonial government of which he is part, to act for the betterment of the people. Patrick Henry attempts to persuade the House of Burgesses to revolt and declare war against Britain by logically convincing them that it is their natural right to be free and calling on

In early spring of 1765, Prime Minister Grenville introduced the Stamp Act. As a “direct tax” on the colonists, the Stamp Act stipulated that “anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it” and these included items such as newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. In a sense, the Stamp Act affected every level of society; landowners, merchants, printers, and sailors were all required to pay taxes for the printed papers they used. The Stamp Act was not welcomed with open arms in the colonists because it raised constitutional issues that initiated the first serious protests against British imperial policy. The colonists felt, compared to their counterparts in Britain, the British Parliament wasn’t treating them fairly.

The Stamp Act affected everyone by placing taxes on every printed document. This included newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, deeds, wills and licenses. Britain was receiving ten times more from the colonies, and America took notice. It was an obvious attempt by England to get money from them without their approval. This made them feel hopeless until Patrick Henry spoke out on May 1765, to the House of Burgesses. Henry claimed that Americans had equal rights as the British, such as the right to be taxed by their own representative; Virginia shouldn't have to pay any taxes not given by the Virginia Assembly, and anyone who opposed the (soon called), Virginia Resolves was an enemy to the

Found on the back of each dollar bill in circulation, two parts to the United States Great Seal appear; one of these symbols, an unfinished pyramid with an eye, may be an unknown symbol to many current Americans. In The American Revolution Gordon Wood poses rhetorically, “how many Americans today know what the pyramid and eye on the Great Seal mean” (99). Though many Americans cannot recount the neoclassical reference, this symbol of long lasting strength symbolizes the colonists’ view of a constitution. The strength of the pyramids that have withstood thousands of years or sun and storms is the strong base layer. In America this essential base is not bricks it is a robust citizenry. In the 1760’s Americans viewed a constitution as a written

In the future, the capitol might be significant but unfortunately, we cannot know that. Instead, we can determine what might happen with the motto “that future will learn from the past.” When the burgesses like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry protested against the stamp, tea, sugar, Townsend, intolerable, and declaratory acts, they inspired people in the future like Abe Lincoln to follow in their footsteps to become a great leader. Many other presidents and people have done the same, especially James Madison, the president during the war of 1812. Many presidents, representatives, leaders, teachers, and other people in the future may try to visit the Capitol in order to try and follow in the footsteps of these great men. Overall, the

To help pay off their debt, England scheduled the initiation of the Stamp Act, which placed a tax on fifty different documents, on November 1, 1765 (Gale Par. 2; Brindell 13). This act was to put a tax “upon every paper commonly called a pamphlet and upon every newspaper” (Copeland 193). Because the Stamp Act was an internal tax, which meant this tax law was only enforced in America, this made the colonists even