THE STAMP ACT
What was the Stamp Act of 1765?
The Stamp Act of was an Act that the British Parliament created to help raise money to support the cost of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. But it was also a way to help the British get out of the debt they created during the Seven Years' War. The British had gotten themselves into a huge debt. They figured that because the Colonies had been protected during this war, they should help shoulder some of the cost. So British Parliament decided to create a tax that would make it so every piece of paper that was a legalized document, or basically any paper that had writing on it, would cost a fee that would go to the British government. The Stamp Act was passed to into law on November 1, 1765.
The Stamp Act of was an Act that the British Parliament created to help raise money to support the cost of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. But it was also a way to help the British get out of the debt they created during the Seven Years' War. The British had gotten themselves into a huge debt. They figured that because the Colonies had been protected during this war, they should help shoulder some of the cost. So British Parliament decided to create a tax that would make it so every piece of paper that was a legalized document, or basically any paper that had writing on it, would cost a fee that would go to the British government. The Stamp Act was passed to into law on November 1, 1765.
What was the British's point of view?
The Seven Years' War (1756-63) was the end of the long rivalry between France and Britain for the control of North America.. This victory wasn't all pleasant though. Because the British had had won the vicious war, they were left in a great debt. Since the war also contributed to the American Colonists, the British thought that they should also have to pay of the debts that were created and pay for the troops that were placed in the colonies. British government had always used authority over the colonies, but the recent years before the Stamp Act were quite relaxed. Starting with the Sugar Act, the British began tightening their reins over the colonies. Shortly following, George Grenville, the British first Lord over the treasury and the prime minister, proposed the Stamp Act. The British Parliament passed the Act without any debate in 1765. Instead of trying to hide the ways of getting money form the Colonists, the Stamp Act was a direct way to tax the colonies. Specifically, the act required that starting in the fall of 1765, ALL legal documents had to have a tax stamp on it. The tax stamp would be produced by the commissioned distributors who would collect the tax in exchange for the stamps. |
An Uproar in the Colonies!
The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small, only a few shillings and a few pence each. But still, this was a problem with the Colonists. The first major offense with the Stamp Act was that the colonies were in the midst of economical hardships. So in short, their money was very tight. The second was the concept of the act all in itself. The Colonists considered themselves just as deserving to their own rights as the British were. They felt it was unfair to be taxed by anyone other than colonial legislators. The fact that the British would set over the colonial legislators was revolting! The Colonists reasoned that if this new act was passed without any resistance that the door would be open for more troubling taxation in the future. Although most Colonists continued to accept Parliaments authority to have a say over their trade, they insisted that only their representative assemblies could direct internal taxes, such as the ones in the Stamp Act. The Colonists didn't believe the British government's argument that the colonies had a say in the taxing, even though they could not vote. A very vocal group of Colonists against the Stamp Act believed that there was dark designs hidden behind the act. These voices warned that the tax was part of a plot to take away the Colonists' freedom. The Colonists questioned why British troops were still in America after the French had been defeated. Some thought it was so the British government could turn against the colonies after they had earned their trust. Parliament pushed on with the Stamp Act in spite of the Colonists objections. Colonial resistance towards the act started slowly at first, but gained momentum as it's planned date to start grew near. |
Resistance Towards the Stamp Act
In Virginia, Patrick Henry , whose strong dislike towards Parliament would make him famous, created and submitted a series of resolutions to the House of Burgesses, which was his colony's assembly. These resolutions disagreed with Parliament's "right" to tax the colonies and gave power to the colonies resistance! Colonies' newspapers proclaimed these new revolutionary claims. These resolutions also upset the Stamp Act Congress, a group of Colonists who formed in October 1765: who agreed with the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Congress wrote petitions that affirmed their loyalty and that they disagreed with what the other Colonists thought. While Congress and colonial assemblies fought among themselves, the Colonists took matters into their own hands. The most famous act of resistance was when the Sons of Liberty started a mob that ran through the streets of Boston with a dummy that represented the Boston Stamp Distributor, Andrew Oliver. The Son's of Liberty took the dummy and hung it from the Liberty Tree and beheaded it before ransacking Oliver's home. This shook up Oliver and he soon resigned as Boston Stamp Distributor. This had started an uprising in the colonies and by 1766 most stamp distributors had resigned. These determined colonists made it very difficult to bring the Stamp Act into effect, so in 1766 Parliament revoked it. |
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Unsolved Problems
Though the Stamp Act had been rebutted, Parliament still believed that they as the parent country had authority over the colonies. If they wanted to tax the colonies, they surely would! Parliament was still angered by the colonies rash actions and their lack of respect to the country who made and protected them. The British believed that without them, the colonies would surely fail. So as a form of defiance and punishment, Parliament made the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act was a conformation of Parliaments power to pass any laws over the colonists that they pleased. The colonist still held firm to their belief that Parliament could not tax them, and they certainly had no power over them. These issues mustered around for 10 years before leading to the revolutionary war and, ultimately, the American Independence. |
Why Were The British In Debt?
What Date Was The Stamp Act Suppose To Go Into Law?
Bibliography
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, (2013). A summary of the stamp act of 1765. Retrieved from website: http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrsta.cfm
A&E Television Networks, LLC, (2013). The stamp act. Retrieved from website: http://www.history.com/topics/stamp-act
Massachusetts Historical Society, (2008). The stamp act. Retrieved from website: http://www.masshist.org/revolution/stamp.php
A&E Television Networks, LLC, (2013). The stamp act. Retrieved from website: http://www.history.com/topics/stamp-act
Massachusetts Historical Society, (2008). The stamp act. Retrieved from website: http://www.masshist.org/revolution/stamp.php