Colonists Democratic Principles And Civic Values

Many colonists were angered because of high taxes England chose to enforce on them. These taxes were a result of the British participation and victory in the French and Indian war. However, what made the colonists even more angry was the fact that they were being taxed without representation in England’s Parliament. The colonists thought that, in order to be taxed by the British, they should have representation in it. They saw it as unfair to be taxed by a government they had no say in. As Patrick Henry said in his speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our own representatives...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it…” (Doc. 1). Since many colonists thought this taxation broke the law, some of them chose to protest by going to the House of Burgesses, boycotting imports, or simply not paying it in response. This response is justified; if

These stamps were required on bills of sale for trade items, and on various types of commercial and legal documents, anything from playing cards to diplomas to marriage licenses. Grenville claimed that the Stamp act was needed in order to help defray the cost of keeping British troops stationed in the colonies in order to protect them. To the colonists this was an invalid answer, because the French were out of North America, and they no longer needed protection. Instead, this Act was viewed as a tax solely to make money for England: "A right to impose an internal tax on the colonies, without their consent for the single purpose of revenue, is denied..." (Document B). Also, anyone that disobeyed these laws was tried in the admiralty courts, were juries were not allows, and you were guilty until proven innocent. In response, the colonists formed the Stamp Act Congress, in which the members drew up a statement of the rights and grievances of the colonists to send to the king, however it was ignored by England. Instead, they started a steady boycott of British goods. It is after this that the colonists realized that they were being used by England, and began their cry of "no taxation without representation!" Parliament had thought that it was making easy money off of the colonies; instead it had started the fire of rebellion burning, and the Stamp Act was soon repealed.

     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.

First, the Stamp Act of 1765 is an act that required the colonists to pay on paper items. This act angered many colonists and the colonists can not let this pass them. “The English passed the Stamp Act so the colonists can help pay their expenses from the French and Indian War”(Colonial Unrest). With anger, groups like the Sons of Liberties stopped stamped paper being unloaded off decks. Then, merchants had a plan and agreed not to buy anything from the British. Also, representatives from different colonies formed the Stamp Act Congress and demanded Parliaments to reverse the act. In conclusion,

The Stamp Act angered the colonists because of the possibility for enacting other similar taxes in the future. Further, the colonists were not represented in Parliament, so they felt they were being taxed without representation. The tax was considered by many colonists to be illegal. A speech by Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses helped demonstrate the colonists were not going to stand by and do nothing while King George treated them unfairly. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed in 1776.(Document 1)

When the Stamp Act was passed by the British in 1765, the colonists had several reactions. George Grenville, who was the British Prime MInister, persuaded Parliament to pass the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act caused several reactions because it was a law that taxed all printed goods, this included

The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22,1765. It was a taxation on any piece of paper like, legal documents, playing cards, newspapers, etc, and once payed it got a stamp put on it. The reason for the act was to help pay the debt of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War). This act affected all the colonists from the wealthy to the poor. What affected the colonists the most was that they had to pay in silver coins and silver was very difficult to find in the colonies. Like the Sugar Act many colonist protested violently and nonviolently. One violent protest was “harassing” tax collectors by destroying their homes and threatening them. A nonviolent protest was boycotting British goods hoping for the act to be repealed.

American colonists were most upset by the misrepresentation of the colonies in parliament when the Stamp Act was imposed. In a public letter to Secretary Conway, it is mentioned that the colonists are mostly discontent by the manner in which the tax was imposed and that they feel that they have been violated of their birth right as Briton, the right to be taxed only in a parliament in which they are represented (Doc B). The Stamp Act only taxed printed goods like newspapers, but newspapers were expensive and not a necessity of life, so it only affected the rich. However, the rich were not the only ones angry about the tax therefore meaning it was not the tax itself that angered the colonists, but more how the tax was imposed without their representation.

The Stamp Act placed taxes on many products, including newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. This angered the colonists, as they were being unjustly taxed. They refused to buy or use stamps as a sign of rebellion. Critical Thinking In justifying the Stamp Act, the British claimed that Americans should have to pay for the protection that the British supplied.

The Stamp Act, known for creating many types of resistances between the colonists and the British Parliament, required all American colonists to pay a tax on all printed pieces of paper the colonists used. The British parliament created this act to increase prosperity, have a more organized government and colony, and to abuse the colonists’ wealth and freedom. Many people opposed the Stamp Act, thinking that it was completely unfair and uncivilized. There were three resistances against the Stamp Act; all which made an end to the taxation of the Stamp Act. The three resistances that made an impact on the Stamp Act include legislative resistance by the elites, economical resistance, and protests.

They had never had to pay taxes, and when the British government began forcing them to pay taxes on certain items, they resisted. Some items that had a tax were tea, print-paper, molasses, pimento, paint and glass. The fist taxation the British government put on the American colonists was the Stamp Act. This act required all colonists to pay a tax on every piece of print paper they used. The colonists became angry and very upset that this tax had been passed without their permission or consultation, and they refused to pay it. They also burned the stamps in protest. After all the American colonists’ protest, the British government decided to repeal the Stamp

Britain’s responded to the colonists’ dislike of the Sugar Act by adding a new harsher tax. Grenville and parliament enacted The Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required colonists’ to purchase special stamps and place them on all legal documents. Stamped paper was required for everything from newspapers to playing cards. Once again British thought of this tax to be reasonable because they had employed a tax similar to this in Britain. This only made the situation worse because colonists’ got very upset and protested against it. Crowds of angry colonists’ attacked homes of British officials.

This was probably the first “worst” policy that affected all of the colonists and started a strong unification to oppose Britain. Stamps had to be purchased for ships’ papers, legal documents, tavern licenses, newspapers, and other publications. They were relatively inexpensive. Issues with the colonists though was Britain was “raising” money from the colonists which they believed was unfair. If they did not oppose this new tax, what else and how bad would Britain’s taxation become? The policy also took away the rights from the colonies for their own affairs (Brinkley, 2012).

Now the stamp act seamed like an even bigger act then the sugar act.The stamp act said that almost everything on paper had to be stamped and paid.To get the stamp the colonists had to pay the collector.You really didn’t wan’t to be the collector because the colonists take all there anger out on you.So the stamp act was evenally repealed but British cept on coming.

The Stamp act was a law passed by the British parliament in 1765. It was a law that said every piece of paper had to have a stamp. England would use the money from the stamps to help pay for the recently concluded French and Indian War because England was in a great deal of debt. People in the colonies thought of themselves as equal to the people in England, but the people in Britain didn't agree. So when the British tried to force a tax on them, the colonists realized the truth. This sparked things in the colonies such as riots and the burning of supporters houses. Different groups of colonists reacted differently to the stamp act; wealthy colonists reacted more nonviolently, with petitions and letters, while commoners