British Resistance To The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act Crisis in Boston, Massachusetts quickly became a centralized location for further detest to the British law. Colonists fought against the stamp act with fury and anger. Nash adds to the compelling reality that dregs had little or nothing to lose compared to the Elite colonists in the fight with Governor Thomas Hutchinson and brother-in-law Andrew Oliver, both were sent by Britain to restore order and invoke the laws. The common worker had their hands in on the destruction of Hutchinson and Oliver’s property during one of their mob riots as mentioned in source three.. Ebenezer MacIntosh was viewed as “The principal leader of the mob,”(63) but by no means were these acts set in play by anyone other than British Parliament’s forges for rapid wealth.The common people brought Parliament’s ability to tax to a screeching halt.

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

As predicted by Benjamin Franklin, the American people broke out into riots and threatened the lives of the British in America. In retaliation of the act, Americans replied in three major ways. The Sons of Liberty formed; a group who encouraged outrage against the British, often in a violent manner. The American public began a boycott of British goods in an attempt to coerce British merchants to urge Parliament to repeal the act. And finally a Stamp Act Congress came together in New York in order to petition King George and Parliament to revoke the tax.

It was the french and indian war, and it was that war that left the british in debt. But the british thought of a new way of collecting money and it involved adding more money to the british’s creations. therefore it was called the Stamp Act. the Stamp Act relied on the colonials to buy the british’s goods, but with a the british would make the colonists pay taxes with the stuff they bought from the british. The colonials started to realise what the british have done and tried to everything in their “power” to stop it.

The mistake of not making simple reforms, like allowing one representative in parliament per colony would lead to revolts, and even groups coming together. Some revolts were peaceful while others, which affected the tax collectors and stamp sellers, were violent resulting in the tarring and feathering of the British officials. The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Patrick Henry, were a very radical and overdramatic group, Patrick Henry would make the fateful statement of “Give me liberty or give me death.” On October 7th, 1765 the Stamp act congress would meet there were representatives from 9 of the 13 colonies. The representatives made a decision to boycott British goods. By March of 1776, the Stamp Acts will have been appealed, but the government in England is not happy.

By suddenly ending “salutary neglect”, the British Parliament had, unknowing, prompted the beginnings of the Americans' grievances. Though not much protest occurred in response to the Proclamation (most colonists moved West anyways), the Act itself would set a precedent for Americans' sense of anxiety. The first direct tax on the American colonies, the Stamp act, contributed significantly to the beginnings of pre-Revolutionary unity. With the rallying battle cry, “No taxation without representation”, the American colonists proceeded to call together the Stamp Act Congress. Not only was this event significant due to the fact that it was another group meeting, automatically signifying at least some unity, but major proponents of Revolution, such as Samuel Adams, started new efforts towards uniting colonists against Britain, such as the Sons of Liberty. The following several years, though not marked with tremendous amounts of unification, definitely contributed to a growing sense of anxiety and oppression amongst the American colonists. With more direct taxes such as the Tea Acts, Coercive Acts, and Quartering Acts. Grievance after grievance, the number of “unreasonable” British actions inevitably forced the Americans into a dilemma. While some colonists, such as Richmond Henry Lee, equated such acts to the British desire to “ruin” the colonies, others, such as Mather Byles, believed that a radical

Meanwhile the rumors of more taxes to follow the Sugar Act put the colonists in a state of un-ease. They began to question the power of the Parliament to which they elected no representatives and grew weary of taxes which they did not consent to. Meanwhile, colonists sent delegates to attend the Stamp Act Congress, to devise a rebuttal against what they deemed unfair taxation without representation. This led to the creation of the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which included their worry about taxation. Consequently, the British reacted negatively and viewed it as an abhorrent document. How dare the colonists question the power of Parliament’s authority? They refused the Colonists’ Declaration and preemptively refused any further declarations that they may or may not have planned to make. However, peace was somehow struck, as if like fool’s gold, the colonists saw that their voices were heard in the fact that the British were repealing the Stamp Act. They were being beguiled by this repeal as the British worked to maintain their power and seem strong in the English’s eyes, and further affirming that Parliament had the right to legislate for the colonies through the Declaratory Act, but this seemed to be largely ignored along with the Revenue Act because of the joy caused by the repeal of the Stamp Act. This relative peace continued until about March

The political views of the British colonies in America were different from Britain’s views. Britain emerged from the French and Indian War with a huge amount of debt. Britain wanted to maintain its control over the British colonies in America and also wanted the colonies to help pay the debt from the War. Parliament passed several acts, one being the Stamp Act, levying taxes on the colonies. The colonists felt they had no representation in Britain and should not be taxed without representation. The colonists did not want the Stamp Act to be a precedence for future tax acts. The Virginia legislature passed resolutions against the act. Riots broke out throughout the colonies, including Virginia. Effigies of George Mercer, the stamp distributor in Virginia, were hanged and burned. In Williamsburg, Mercer was greeted by an angry mob. The Virginia legislature in Williamsburg passed resolutions against the Stamp Act. Eventually, Parliament repealed the act. Actions by both the colonists and the British demonstrated their philosophical differences. The colonists boycotted British goods in an effort to avoid paying import taxes. Interestingly, there was

Britain was beginning to notice that they were not receiving as much money as they needed to pay off the costs of the French and Indian War henceforth, Britain authorized the colonists to pay a new tax. Everyone had to buy a tax stamp to put on their important papers. Newspapers had to be printed on special stamp paper that cost extra money. This act was called the Stamp Act. Many of the colonists were Furious about the new taxes.The American colonists were arguing that they had to contribute money and supplies in their own defense during the war by providing for the British soldiers. Not surprisingly, the 1991.Americans acted negatively to the Stamp Act. Because of thi,s men formed groups called “The Sons of Liberty”. These groups met in secret and they vowed to fight for what they believed was right. One night, The Sons of Liberty and some of the colonists decided to run Tax Collectors out of town, so they refuse to pay the tax or buy stamps.In the end, British decided to end the Stamp Act. After all, no one could collect the duties if no tea, glass, or paint was imported. After that, the people reacted to the Townshend Acts and the selfishness of the Customs Commissioners by organizing yet another boycott (Garrity,

After nearly a year of protests, the Sons of Liberty were finally victorious in March of 1766 when Parliament decided to repeal the Stamp Act,but later the British put a tax on tea.The controversy over the tea tax was made worse by the passing of the Tea Act of 1773, which allowed for tea sold by British companies to be shipped directly to the colonies and sold at a discount. As the tax on tea was still in place, this act was a subtle way to persuade colonists to comply with the tax.The colonists were not pleased.

Hundreds of years ago, there was a war that made the British stop controlling the American colonies and made what is today the United States of America. The colonies were huge underdogs with poor amounts of supplies and clothing, but surprisingly found a way to victory and got their independence from the British. Since the war, America has been an independent and powerful country in the world as they still are today. Sparks flew in colonist anger as British Parliament passed acts that America thought were unreasonable, such as the stamp act, this act was in place so the British could raise money. The colonists at this time had to buy stamps that were imprinted into paper goods, newspapers, documents, advertisements, and playing cards. The stamp act was one of the most hated acts by the Americans since it applied to everyone and they always needed the stamps. Another act the British made was a series of taxes called the townshend acts in 1767. This act was a tax on all imported goods, and made the Patriots

This group consisted of lawyers, merchants, politicians, and artisans who were all there to protest the stamp act. The Sons of Liberty usually relied petitions, public meetings, and pamphlets to rally support, but they would also get violent if necessary. The Stamp Act congress came together in 1765 to repeal the stamp act and deny the Parliament’s of its right to tax the colonies. British merchants who profited form colonial trade joined in the protest, fearing financial ruin. When the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 people on both sides of the Atlantic rejoiced. While many were busy celebrating they ignored the passage of the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act gave the Parliament full power and authority over the colonies. The Declaratory Act also gave the Parliament the right to make laws. The Townshend Acts of 1767 placed import duties on common items such as tea, lead, glass, and dyes for paint. British customs officials used special search warrants called writs of assistance to enforce the law. Writs of assistance were much different than the modern day search warrants, because they did not specify the item sought and specific location to be searched. A customs officer with a writ and a suspicion had the right to search any where he pleased. Colonist hated these writs very much so they stopped housing the British soldiers as the quartering act of 1765 had called them to do. On the evening of March 5, 1770 a crowd of 50 or 60 angry

[ 3 ]. Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. New

By 1765, at a Stamp Act Congress, all but four colonies were represented as the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” was passed. They were determined to let Parliament know that they were equal to British citizens, that there would be no “taxation without representation,” and all efforts to stop tax on colonists would continue (Kennedy, etal 2011.) Although Lord Rockingham, the predecessor of Grenville, sought to repeal of the Stamp Act, this in no way meant Parliament was conceding their control. In fact, while the Stamp Act was repealed, another called the “Declaratory Act of 1766,” gave Parliament the authority to make laws binding the American Colonies, “in all cases whatsoever.” In 1767, George III passed the Townshend Acts to collect tax on glass, lead, paints, paper and, tea. Recognizing that tea was a favorite among the Americans, it ensured greater revenue the British government. Again, the colonists’ rights for representation were ignored and they started to boycott British goods and ultimately, smuggle tea. When the Quartering Act was passed, which specified that colonists were to give room and board to British troops, tension began to rise. For two years, the colonists tolerated British troops on their soil and their dissatisfaction with the British Parliament and King George III became evident through many violent riots, abusiveness of tax collectors and destruction of property. According to Kennedy, etal (2011), Parliament, continually met with

     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.