The Stamp Act and Other Taxes

Nancy Morton
Dr. Craig Semsel
HSTY 151
February 23, 2013

The Stamp Act was an important act introduced by the British Prime Minister, George Greenville, and it was passed in March 1765 by the British Parliament.   Its purpose was to raise money for the British army stationed in the American colonies after they won the Seven Years’ War.   The Stamp Act required tax stamps for public documents such as, newspapers, legal documents, customs documents, licenses, deeds, almanacs, and even playing cards (lecture date).   Since Britain was left with a large national dept of £140 million from the Seven Years’ War, the British government felt that since the colonies benefited that they should be contributing to the expenses.   The American colonies acted very strongly against this matter.
During the summer of 1765, there were many protests in the colonies.   These protests involved everyone from civic leaders to street mobs.   In many cities and towns the slogan became “no taxation without representation (text, page).”   The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization that often organized said protests.   Many acts of violence and a lot of pressures were centered towards the stamp agents, and by fall, almost all of the stamp agents had resigned.
In October of 1765, in New York City, a Stamp Act Congress was held; it represented nine of the thirteen colonies. The Stamp Act Congress declared that stamp taxes could not be collected without the people’s consent and that the colonists’ right to be taxed was only by their own elected representatives.   Merchants agreed not to import British goods until the law was repealed (document, page).   The Stamp Act Congress then wrote petitions, as well as a declaration of their rights, to King George and the Parliament.   Finally, one year after it had begun, the Stamp Act was begrudgingly repealed by the British Parliament.
Even though Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they had not yet given up the right to tax the colonies, as is...