Narrative Essay About The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act Congress Declaration of Rights and Grievances was a petition to the king and the two houses of Parliament asking for colonial position in the government if they were to be taxed. The Declaration of Independence is a statement from the colonial government wishing to cut ties with England and to be their own governing force. Both were, in a sense, documents that asked of England to change their ways of governing the colonies. While both articles are mostly different in how they ask for that change, there are some similarities in them culturally; even though they are years apart. First, both of the documents call out the militia-based courts set in place by the king. The Stamp Act Congress states in title VII, "That trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies" (p. 90) and one of the grievances on why the colonies wish to succeed from England in the Declaration of Independence is "For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury" (p A69).

Did you hear about the taxes that were put on many of our papers. On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the “Stamp Act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years’ War. It required the colonists' to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various papers, documents, and playing cards. They had colonists pay for British soldiers to stay in their homes. They put a lot of taxes on tea also.

Colonists did not feel that they should have to pay more taxes to pay off the war debts from the European side of the Seven Year’s War,

The new, but no differently controversial tax, did more to escalate the colonists’ view of being “taxed without our consent… we are therefore SLAVES”. Another expression of the present colonial view on English taxation is found in the political cartoon Virtual Representation. The cartoon depicts a character from English Parliament pointing a fire arm at a colonist character while remarking to another character of the name Lord Brute “I give you this man’s money for my use”, the Colonist replies with “I will not be robbed!”. The illustration sincerely shows the level of distrust and antagonism felt towards the tyrannical British Parliament and Monarchy across the sea, or as Patrick Henry describes in Common Sense “O ye that love mankind!

The U.S. Congress passes an act that grants a pension to all wives of veterans who served in the American Civil War. On April 10, 1890, Friederike (Miko) Ruesse fills out an application to receive a widow’s pension. Her late husband, Johann Voss, had served during the war. Rike goes to Nashville, the county seat of Washington County, to see an attorney. Filling out a form, she swears to the following:

“‘No taxation without representation!’”(Hart,67). This explains the anger in the colonist on how britain was taxing for the lost items without their consent.

The Stamp act was a law passed by the British parliament in 1765. It was a law that said every piece of paper had to have a stamp. England would use the money from the stamps to help pay for the recently concluded French and Indian War because England was in a great deal of debt. People in the colonies thought of themselves as equal to the people in England, but the people in Britain didn't agree. So when the British tried to force a tax on them, the colonists realized the truth. This sparked things in the colonies such as riots and the burning of supporters houses. Different groups of colonists reacted differently to the stamp act; wealthy colonists reacted more nonviolently, with petitions and letters, while commoners

In contrast, some divisions of the colonial population supported Britain whole-heartedly with their lives. They delighted in the short-lived emboldened ties. A New England minister proclaimed “…the Children of New England may be glad and triumph, in Reflection on Events past, and Prospects for the future…” (Document E). Comprehensibly, he felt that Britain gave them a future, that they owed their lives to their mother country. “…Mother, who has most generously rescued and protected us, [must] be served and honored…” (Document E). This is a deep contrast to the ways of thinking possessed by the soldiers and Native Americans, and it would not last long.

Initially, the war modified how Britain taxed and enforced laws against its colonies. This came about because after the war, England found itself in enormous debt, and began to search for a way to start paying it back and restore the economy. One way to earn money, as explained by the British treasury, was to fix the situation in the colonies, where the money being spent to collect taxes was greater than the actual income. The new round of taxes began with the Sugar Act, Britain’s attempt to pay for the upkeep of the British army in America. The colonies response to this, especially in Boston, was to boycott the tax. They reacted as such because they argued that the tax wasn’t justified due to their belief that they didn’t have representation in parliament, however, Britain countered the argument with the idea of “virtual representation” and

In 1830, the Jackson administration instated the Indian Removal Act. This act removed the Native Americans from their ancestral lands to make way for an increase of additional American immigrants. This act forced many Native American tribes from their homes including five larger tribes, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creek, and Seminole. These tribes had populations were estimated to be around 65,000 people strong that lived in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. (Foner, 2012) The American Indians fought for their rights and beliefs through the American court system. Their other objective other than fighting for their rights was but in the end, they were forced out of their homes to move

     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.

“Well, because of this, some people started to fight back. They fought back by debates in the colonial legislatures, written documents, and mob actions such as tarring and feathering tax collectors.”

The crashing and creaking of the boast on the dock played along with the crunching of ice beneath our feet. The chats now getting louder as we got closer to the large group of people, their becoming more coherent. " No Taxation with Out Representation" chanted the men and women, but no children as they where elsewhere because of the risk of a fight breaking out. Zoe and I joined in on the chant. " No Taxation with Out Representation". The people of Boston chanted alongside us. We weren’t angry because we were being taxed we are angry about our nonexistent representation in the parliament. Here in the colonies so far away from the king, we get no voice. We are thankful for the protection during the French and Indian war, we understand the need for taxation the chants of the people increasingly got louder and angrier, I could feel the tension rising. I saw redcoats through the bodies of the people, but I soon heard gunshots. Grabbing Zoe’s hand, I shoved my way through the crowds running towards home the sounds of the gun fire ringing in my ear. As I sung open our house door I was met with my mothers worried

The precarious relationship bewteen my brothers and I was torn at the seams by choices made and blows aimed. In the end, it was Jeremy who held the power of life and death, simply because he was the eldest. It was like dangling a big, red button in front of a monkey and hoping he wouldn't press it. It was all we could do to avoid the carnage. Still, I tried. I begged, pleaded, and shouted obscenities until I was sick, all to no avail. Afterwards, I took a savage joy in their sorrows, though it was a hollow victory as the greatest prize had been lost to the one, true irreparable damage. In the days and weeks that followed, we never talked about it. Without words, it was clear that there was no going back to our "happy little family." Choices had been made. Lines had been drawn. It was the end of an era and we were riding to that end as seperate entities, each a singular unit, a family all our

As the idea of independence began after the French and Indian War and the taxation that came forthwith from the British, it became more and more expensive for the colonists and eventual Americans. During the wartime, most people were struggling to make ends meet; they knew that “their full amount is justly due,” but with a government trying to build the Great American Experiment and figure out what the country will stand for (II, i). Colonel Manly is proud of what his country has done for them for getting America out of the taxation nation known as England his obsession with and