Stamp Act Summary And Analysis

The Stamp Act      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.

Soon the Quartering Act was passed, directing the colonies to provide quarters for British soldiers. Americans found this oppressive because it meant that soldiers were placed in colonial homes. In 1764 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, putting a duty on most printed materials. This was a normal tax for the British as it had been going on in Britain for a long time, and it made sense that the rest of their empire would pay the same tax. This placed a burden on merchants and the colonial elite who did most legal transactions and read the newspapers. Also passed in the same year was the Declaratory Act, which stated that the colonies were subject to the will of Parliament. This made a lot of sense to the British, as Parliament was their ruling body, but, to the colonies who had become used to their own government during the years of salutory neglect, this was a direct threat to their way of life.

After a long time coming, the 13 colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, finally won their independence against the british government on July 4th 1776. This war of independence made not only political changes for the US but also around the world. After years of tension building up, the first strike for americans to be against britain was when the British government implemented the Stamp Act. This was a tax on all stamps to help reimburse Britain for the land they acquired for the 13 colonies. The colonist weren’t all that thrilled about this tax not only because the tax was high but because they had no representation

In 1776, the original thirteen colonies officially declared their independence from Great Britain after the American revolution. This fight for freedom was not an easy one however and was brought on by a chain of events following the French and Indian War in 1754. After fighting in the French and Indian War, Great Britain had greatly over-extended itself, causing a period of severe debt. To cope with this debt, Parliament started trying to generate revenue for the country; one way this was done was though the passing of acts. In 1764, under the order of George Grenville, Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, the Sugar Act and the Currency Act were implemented. These two acts were consumption taxes on sugar and printing currency, respectively. Not too long after these acts were passed, the Stamp Act of 1765 occurred, requiring colonists to pay for an official seal to have their mail sent. After this act was passed, colonists were becoming angry that they were being taxed on nearly everything. This anger led to the

From the 1650s to the 1750s, the British colonies in America economically thrived under salutary neglect. The British crown would turn a “blind-eye” to merchants and sailors trading with foreign nations– outlawed by Parliament. During this period, the colonists felt as if they had control over the respective state governments and the taxes they paid. However, in the mid-1700s, the period of salutary neglect by the British ended, resulting in greater Parliamentary control and the imposition of many direct taxes, such as the Sugar act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765. These direct taxes angered many colonists, as previously they had been paying indirect taxes, but these direct taxes where place without any direct representation in Parliament.

William Pitt was a figure in the House of Commons, whose brother-in-law George Grenville the Prime Minister, shared very different opinions on the matter of the Stamp Act (William Pitt’s Defense). Where Pitt thought the Stamp Act was unjust and that the British government could not place internal taxes on the colonies. His brother’s opinion went in an opposite direction. Grenville proposed the Stamp Act thinking it was a great way to make money to reduce the national debt (William Pitt’s Defense). However, Grenville never prophesied the ripple affect that the Stamp Act would have. As the colonists were enraged by the Stamp act the House of Representatives in Massachusetts asked representatives from all thirteen states to meet in New York to come up with a plan to stop all of this unfair taxing (Keene et al, Section 4). While the thirteen colonies were coming up with a plan, the streets of all the colonies in America were getting out of control. People were protesting in the streets, attacking tax collectors, and attacking the homes of British officials (Keene et al, Section 4). While protesting is a calm and rational move, the colonists were not being anything close to calm. It was as if all common knowledge was lost they were angry and they blamed everyone who got in their way. They harassed so many stamp workers that eventually they all closed down and no stamps were bring sold (Landburg, Chapter 8). The impacts of the protests scared the British and they were petitioning to repeal the Stamp Act (Landburg, Chapter 8). In 1766 the law was finally repealed but was replaced with another another act. The Declaratory Act confirmed that the British can make laws and taxes that the colonies have to abide by (Keene et al, Section 4). This started to divide the colonies and they were arranging into two group, the Patriots and the

The Declaratory Act reinforced parliament’s law-making power over the American colonies, the act stated that British Parliaments’ taxing authority was the same as Great Britain’s as it was in America. This was a hopeful measure in binding the colonies whenever and however it deemed necessary. So Britain still had its right to govern. The Declaratory Act was more damaging because it emboldened Britain to pass strict legislation and had very few repercussions. The colonists’ resistance became intense and violent towards the British Parliament. Some colonists saw the act as justifiable and credible measure, yet many thought of it as a way to ease the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Declaratory Act worried more colonists about petty taxes than earlier attempts. Even though the Declaratory Act wasn’t immediate, it started to have a great impact on the colonists. This increased the colonists’

In the same year, another important policy Stamp Act was promulgated. “Law passed by parliament in 1765 to raise revenue in America by requiring taxed, stamped paper for legal documents, publication, and playing cards”(Goldfield, P124). Pleasant hours fly past; this law aroused public discontent. Colonists fought against this policy. For example, a group of people planned to intimidate Andrew Oliver to make him quit office in August 1765. (Goldfield, P125). And they also required British government to repeal Stamp Act. Finally, in 1776, parliament ended the Stamp Act, but it approved the Declaratory Act at the same day (Goldfield, p126). This was a statement saying the colonies should serve Britain, and that Britain government could promulgate any law (Goldfield, p126).Although, British repeal Stamp Act, they didn’t stop demanding taxes. In 1767, Parliament promulgated some new taxes policies called the Townshend Duty Act, which stipulated that British

The Stamp Act provoked the majority of colonists to express their discontent. It was the key provocation that led large numbers of Americans to stop viewing public protests against British rule as extreme. Anti-British sentiments existed before the Stamp Act, but previous acts only affected a minority of Americans, whereas the Stamp Act affected the majority. The Stamp Act inspired discussion amongst a larger group than ever before, and even led to the creation of a Stamp Act congress. When the congress met in New York, they wrote petitions to the king insisting that only colonial assemblies had the authority to tax colonists. The British did not exert strict rule over the colonies -- in fact they did not enforce several other taxes they had in place before the Stamp Act. Since their creation, the colonies had begun to create nascent governmental systems that escalated into more formal action against the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act tested the strength of these small colonial governments, and the Stamp Act congress shows that the colonies passed this test. Additionally, the Stamp Act provoked the

The stamp act was a British tax enacted on the colonies by the parliament in 1765. The act taxed all paper items from important legal documents to playing cards and the stamp prices would vary by a the type and content of paper. People would have to pay the stamp distributor for their paper which was so crucial to the British government that counterfeiting stamps was punishable by death. The act was passed to pay for the French- Indian war. And although the intentions were good there was an uproar of mixed reactions all over America. The general public opposed the act and acted in violent matters and even burned one stamp distributors house down. The richer public would say that they were against those "barbaric ways" and would petition the government instead , but their outcries were ignored. The stamp collector's also

As we know, during the years 1775 to 1783, a war between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain was underway. This was known as the Revolutionary war. The basis of this war dealt with rights. The Colonists felt as if their rights were being infringed upon by the Kingdom of

An Intertwined Atlantic The initial interest of the colonies was to be able to maintain themselves until they received support and or supplies from the British. They struggled as they built their settlements and endured the hardships the land had to offer. Their inexperience in farming this land and the lack

This act was very different from others as this was created to be benefitted only for Parliament instead to regulate commerce since it would create revenue. After colonists began protesting, Parliament started to realize that they did absolutely wrong with the colonists. James Otis, the Massachusetts legislature found ways to resists the British law. Stamp Act was one of the historical act as it was a big turning point for both England and the colonies and it was one of the major cause of the American Revolution. Daniel Dulany gave a speech where he supported the colonists about the tax should not be imposed to them without their permission. He also emphasis that the commerce will be finished for Parliament if the colonists resistance would not come into consideration. Parliament’s decision on tax did not receive any impacts by the resolution due to the huge commercial pressure. But after one year of fighting, in 1766, Parliament were forced to withdraw the Stamp

The Stamp Act created a crisis for both Britain and the Colonies due to the backlash from the Colonies. As such, a year after being passed, the Stamp Act would be repealed and superseded with the Declaratory Act of 1776, which would increase the scope of power and authority that Britain had on the Colonies as well as reduce the scope of the Sugar Act. In addition, the Declaratory Act affirmed Parliament’s right to pass and execute laws on the Colonies “in all cases whatsoever” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/155205/Declaratory-Act

“The Revenue Act of 1764 did not bring in enough money to help pay the cost of defending the colonies. The British looked for additional sources of taxation. Prime Minister Grenville supported the imposition of a stamp tax. Colonial representatives tried to convince Grenville that the tax was a bad idea. Grenville insisted in having the new taxes imposed and presented to the parliament. The parliament approved the tax in February 1765. The colonies responded with outrage. It was considered a “shocking act”.(2)