The Stamp Act : The Stamp Act

In any nation’s creation, there is most certainly a point in time at which the country does not exist and a point at which it does. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to single out the exact events that mark these points. This is especially true in American history, where upon first glance many events could have marked the birth of the nation America is today. With research, however, it is evident that the Stamp Act was the true mark of no return in American history. When the act came into law in 1765, there was a growing resentment from colonists towards British parliament in regard to taxes. England actually paid more in taxes, but Americans felt they had done a lot for Britain and were concerned about England interfering with their

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

Just the other day a fellow colonist asked me if I thought the Stamp Act was justified. Not only do I not find the Stamp Act justified, I find it absurd! Paying a tax on newspapers, legal documents, licenses, and even playing cards is something that would only come straight from England! Prime Minister George Grenville was wrong about the Sugar Act and he is wrong about the Stamp Act too. While I understand that our sweet Jesus said “…Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's,” in Mark 12:17, (Life Application Study Bible 2007) I think us colonist are giving our fair share to Caesar, or in our case England. The Stamp Act is a way “to make the colonists pay part of the cost of stationing British troops” (Hinschelwood

     There was another by-product of the war for Britain; her national debt more than doubled during the course of the conflict. At a time when Britain was starting to bend beneath the weight of the debt, it was only a matter of time before parliament looked to the colonies to help shoulder some of the price incurred in their defense. The Sugar and Stamp Acts were the first of many measures to tax the colonists. The Townshend Duties and the Tea Act would follow. While these measures outraged the colonists because of their monetary implications, it was the constitutional implications brought on by the Acts that were most offensive to the colonists. Until after the Seven Years War, the colonists had been left to essentially tax themselves. Now the colonists had a rallying cry, as they deplored the idea of no taxation without representation. In 1765 the Stamp Act Congress was held, and in a bid of utter defiance the representatives agreed that the colonial legislative assemblies alone had the right to tax the colonies. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but only after agreeing to pass the Declaratory Act, which informed the colonies that Britain did in fact have the right to legislate for the

All the documents had to be formally printed in England and were distinguished by a special stamp. Then these pieces of paper had to be bought from a special agent at a price. This meant that the colonists had to pay taxes on every thing they bought from the British government. It was expected that this tax would raise 60,000 pounds annually. The colonists despised this and tried to buy as little as they could from England. After this act the colonists realised that the British government was revenue-raising. The colonists felt that the British Government should be helping to protect ones property not to take it. The colonists argued that they had no say or representation in the government and that is when the outcry started, “No taxation without representation!”

The Stamp Act was an important act introduced by the British Prime Minister George Grenville that was then passed in March 1765 by the British Parliament. The purpose was to raise money for national debt of Britain after the Seven Years War and Parliament needed means to help fund expensive costs of keeping troops inside the colonies. The act levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other form of paper used in the colonies. The British Government felt that the colonies were the primary reason of the military presence and should pay a portion of the expense. The American colonies did not take kindly to this matter.

The colonists did not mind the taxes as much because some of the items that were taxed were unnecessary, however they did mind that the British were using their power as an excuse to tax the people for no reason (controlling them). The people’s money was not used in a useful matter, it was used for nothing, just extra money for the British to have. “The raising of revenue… was never intended… Never did the British parliament, (until the passing of the Stamp act) think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising a revenue. The Townshend Acts claim the authority to impose duties on these colonies, not for the regulation of trade… but for the single purpose of levying money upson us.” (Document 2). The British just decided one day to just tax the colonies for no reason and the people had no say in it. Also, the British soldiers would come to Boston and take the Boston colonists jobs. Men and women would lose their jobs because the British would take it away from them, they were stealing people’s jobs. The British were taking their money and now their jobs after all the colonists did for them in the French and Indian war. That is not fair for them to run the people like that and it had to be

The taxes passed by Parliament angered the colonists because they were unconstitutional, and did not give Americans representation in the courts. In a resolution, the text states “... This tax… [is] unconstitutional. We have always understood it to be a grand and fundamental principle.. That no … man should be subject to any tax to which he has not given consent… In the … courts one judge presides alone! No juries [are allowed]” ( Document 1). Here, John Adams is informing his peers of his negative opinion on the first of Parliament’s taxes, the Stamp Act, which was passed on November 1, 1765. This act required Colonists to pay unreasonable fees on almost all printed documents. It is an

A major discrepancy the Colonists argued for in the Declaration was Parliament’s act of “imposing taxes on us without our consent”. Becoming a rally cry in the fight for independence, “no taxation without representation” was a consistent belief felt throughout the colonies. The Stamp Act, the first of many taxes to be imposed on the colonists, sparked this belief. The Stamp Act was classified as a direct tax, one the colonists all felt the impact of. There was no way to avoid this tax as it was added onto the price of the item as you were buying it. Document C illustrates this point. When asked about a direct tax, all Benjamin Franklin had to say was that the direct tax was forced upon the people, without their consent and without and representation. His view represents the view of the majority of the colonists. The major reason the colonists felt this tax as unfair was because this tax was levied without their consent, it was decided in Parliament, thousands of miles away, where no American represented the colonists. The Stamp Act was not the only tax the Americans had a problem with. Another tax was the tea tax. Outraged on the East India Trading Company’s monopoly on tea, the Sons of Liberty dumped tea into the harbor in protest of the tea tax. The result was the Boston Port Bill which closed down the Boston port until the colonists paid back the Crown for the lost tea. The Boston Port Bill

Unlike other acts and taxes imposed by the British parliament the Stamp Act effected everyone in the colonies even the colonists who remained loyal to King eventhough, all the colonies were all equally effected by this act imposed by the British. This meant that all legal documents including permits, contracts, newspapers and even playing cards had to carry a tax stamp, the revenue (collected by American customs agents) was supposedly to be used for "defending, protecting and securing" the colonies, but the patriots would have thought differently. They just wanted to be independent from Britian. There was little expectation from Britian and the members of parliament of how intense of a protest that the Stamp Act would generate in America. As mentioned before, the colonists didn’t like to be taxed by Britian any more because they felt living separate from the mother country would only decrease the amount of taxation not

Junior Gonzalez The Stamp Act was horrible for the colonists because they didn't have a say in the stamp act, the tax was used to pay off the money they used in the French and Indian War. The colonists tried to get rid of the tax collectors but this would result in the colonists destroying their town, and the colonists boycotted British goods so they had to start making their own clothing or have them wear the clothing for months. The British bought raw materials from the colonists, then the British would make something out of the material they bought and then the British would sell it back the colonists. But since the colonists refused to pay the additional tax, the British didn't want to buy anything from the colonists, which

This tax was horrible for the colonies because colonists needed to know what was happening since there was a lot of change happening.So, newspapers were handy. This made sending newsletters to colonies expensive. The colonists protested and kept repeating, “No taxation without representation” This made the colonists boycott British goods.

In this lesson, it explained the different act that cause people to pay taxes. In High School, we learned about the Sugar act, Stamp act and Boston Tea Party. The Sugar act was appoint by Georgie the third. The act required people to pay taxes on sugar and other item. I find it hard to believe people had to pay taxes on sugar, I guess sugar was very valuable in that time period. The Sugar act was created to pay for the Quartering Act of 1765. People who fail to pay their taxes had to go to sugar court. In 1765, the British government passed another law that increase the taxes on the colonies. The American people were furious about this. So, the people form a group cause The Son of Liberty. The Son of Liberty boycott against items from England.

“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)

My family all came to the dinner table to eat. Everybody was grabbing their food except for the dad of the family. His name was Kevin Hess. He was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. Then the mom of my family said, ‘’Kevin why don’t you come to the table eat with us.’’