Stamp Act Of 1765 Dbq Essay

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.

The Act of 1764, also known as The Sugar Act, lowered the taxes on molasses but also it had more ways to enforce the tax. In addition to the tax on molasses they taxed things such as silks, wines, and potash. The Americans were outraged with this new law. The colonists did whatever they could to ignore this new law. The British passed the Quartering Act which basically said that the American colonists have to house and feed British forces who were serving in North America. This inflamed the

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.

     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.

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

The American colonies had good reason to suspect some other motives were at play in Britain and with their fears came more taxes. With their ever-growing belief that in some way Britain was devising a plan to seize their liberties, colonists started to boycott British luxury goods so Britain would have to stop the taxes since they would not be making revenue. However, this did not stop Parliament from adding new taxes to the list. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Acts were imposed and set a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The restrictions Britain

Throughout 1764 to 1774, the British imposed a series of new acts on the colonist which only created stronger unification and brought the colonies closer to rebellion (Schultz, 2010). The first act was known as the Sugar Act of 1764. Although this act decreased the taxed amount on molasses and sugar imported from non-British colonies in the West Indies, it was problematic for the colonists as it strengthened the enforcement of collecting taxes. Next, the British imposed the Quartering Act of 1765. The Quartering Act was disrupted the homes of the colonists because it required the colonies to provide food and shelter to British troops that were stationed in their territories.

It all began after the French Indian war. Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763, which was a line that restricted the colonist from westward expansion (document 1). Shortly after this the Tea Act was installed. The Sugar Act which was an act that put taxes on sugar and molasses and required them to pay 6 pence per pound (pp 5). A year later the Stamp Act was issued, requiring that colonist pay a tax on every legal documents, papers and playing cards.

One of the first ways Britain attempted to gain control over the colonies was to impose tax laws. One of the main tax laws that angered the Colonies the most was the Stamp Act of 1765. The stamp act was imposed on all Americans and required them to use stamps on any newspaper, letter, paper, or legal documents that proved that they paid their taxes. The end of the war had brought post war debt and this was Britain’s way to request payments for debts that colonist had caused by buying British imports. The cost is not what actually angered the colonist, The Stamp Act for the Colonist however, was only interpreted one way; it was a direct attempt by England to raise revenue in the colonies without the consent of the colonial assemblies.

The passing of a series of laws regulating trade and tax, most notably the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), and the Tea Act (1773) increased tension between Great Britain and its colonies in the period 1763-1776. Near the end of the French and Indian War, Great Britain was in desperate need of money to pay for their war debts. The British Parliament believed that they had a right to tax their colonies. Their legislations placed duties on certain imports that had never been taxed before. By the end of 1764, tensions heightened between colonists and imperial officials as they were disagreeing more and more about how the colonies should be taxed and governed. These feelings of dissatisfaction would soon swell into rebellion, leading to the American Revolution.

The British government’s legislation to increase revenue continued beyond the Revenue and Currency Acts. In 1765 the Quartering Act and Stamp Act were enacted. The Quartering Act required colonists to house troops who were stationed in their vicinity. The British reasoned that this would help with the cost of keeping British troops in America. To further boost England’s suffering economy, the Stamp Act was made effective putting tax on paper goods such as legal documents, newspapers, almanacs, playing cards, college diplomas, etc. Violators of the Stamp Act, like the Revenue Act, were tried in admiralty courts.

During the 1760’s the British Parliament passed a series of acts designed to reduce the British national debt and to finance the costs of keeping regular soldiers on the American frontier. The most notorious of these was the Stamp Act of 1765, which placed a tax on almost every public piece of paper in the colonies, including: newspapers, pamphlets, diplomas, licenses, packs of cards, almanacs, and dice.1 Initially, because the French and Indian War had lasted so long and was the most costly, the Parliament figured taxing the Americans would help decrease their debt. Little did they know that this would only anger the Americans, and ultimately lead to the revolution. The

“No taxation without representation”, was a notorious motto at the heart of the revolt, especially in the late 18th century. The British parliament imposed a great number of taxations upon the colonists throughout the 18th century, to pay for their ever increasing debts due to their wars and military expansion abroad. Most notably the devastating financial burden that the ‘Seven Year War’ (1754/1756–1763) had inflicted on Britain after it saw it’s national debt nearly double, “from £75 million in 1754 to £133 million in 1763.” These debts in Britain’s view, were to be reimbursed through the implementation of taxes and tighter trade regulations on the colonists. The Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts (1767), were three notable acts imposed by Westminster Parliament that made the colonists bound to revenue raising strategies, the result being that goods such as sugar and paper of many other commodities had to be imported via the British or at minimum, Parliament taxed goods only. These new acts imposed strict regulations on many colonist workers as there was ongoing trade with not just the British, but the Dutch, French and Spanish. “For every hundred weight avoirdupois of such foreign coffee, which shall be imported from any place, except Great Britain, two pounds, nineteen shillings, and nine pence.” (Sugar Act) These taxations aimed monopolize British

In 1764, the Stamp Act Congress believes that taxing the Colonies without even being represented by Great Britain is wrong and the only people that should tax them are representatives that are chosen by themselves (Doc 2).

After attaining victory during the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Great Britain imposed taxes on the colonists to cover their expenses used during the war. Raged by the unjust act, Maurice Moore argued that Britain may not tax the colonists without proper representative. Despite the colonist’s strong opposition, Britain neglected the colonists. In response, the Sons of Liberty protested by hanging British officials and boycotting British goods. Such tension proves that the Stamp Act was a turning point in American history because it stimulated the continuous hatred between the two groups. Provoked by the colonist’s rebellious actions, Great Britain repealed the Stamp Act by passing the Declaratory Act which warned the colonists that the British had ultimate control over them. The intense relationship predicted the imminent separation of colonists from the