Reaction To The Stamp Act Essay

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

These stamps were required on bills of sale for trade items, and on various types of commercial and legal documents, anything from playing cards to diplomas to marriage licenses. Grenville claimed that the Stamp act was needed in order to help defray the cost of keeping British troops stationed in the colonies in order to protect them. To the colonists this was an invalid answer, because the French were out of North America, and they no longer needed protection. Instead, this Act was viewed as a tax solely to make money for England: "A right to impose an internal tax on the colonies, without their consent for the single purpose of revenue, is denied..." (Document B). Also, anyone that disobeyed these laws was tried in the admiralty courts, were juries were not allows, and you were guilty until proven innocent. In response, the colonists formed the Stamp Act Congress, in which the members drew up a statement of the rights and grievances of the colonists to send to the king, however it was ignored by England. Instead, they started a steady boycott of British goods. It is after this that the colonists realized that they were being used by England, and began their cry of "no taxation without representation!" Parliament had thought that it was making easy money off of the colonies; instead it had started the fire of rebellion burning, and the Stamp Act was soon repealed.

The Stamp Act was passed on March 22, 1765. It would take effect on November 1st of the same year. This act was used to pay a tax on basically every piece of paper. The people that it affected were the colonists. It was stated in the act that the admiralty courts would have jurisdiction over the offenders. This was viewed as an attempt to lessen the power of the colonial courts (SFI one, About Education). The act was also created to take money directly from the colonists because of the British being in debt from war.

(Doc H) In order to get a stamp the colonists had to pay a collector. The colonists then had mobs to frighten the stamp collectors and burned their house taking all their hatred out on them in order for the collectors to resign. The colonists claimed that the act was unconstitutional and with all their protest it was repealed in

Simply by suggesting that Parliament had overstepped its implied boundaries, the colonists were considered to be boldly defiant. The Resolutions were sent to the king and Parliament, where they were met as warmly as the Stamp Act itself was in the colonies.

     The Stamp Act, however, created much more protest. In 1765, Parliament passed an act requiring the colonists to pay tax stamps on any paper product. The act infuriated colonists because this act was a direct attempt to raise money without the consent of the colonial assemblies. The colonists felt that they were being taxed without representation. With great anger, colonists refused to allow the tax stamps to be sold. Merchants even agreed not to order British goods until the act was abolished. Then, in October of 1765, delegates gathered to discuss the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Congress stated that the right of taxation belongs only to the people and their elected representatives. Also, they decided that Parliament couldn’t deny their right to trial by jury. They argued that Parliament didn’t have the power to tax them because they had no representatives in Parliament. They denied Parliament’s right to tax them for revenue. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but following that, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. It stated that the kind and Parliament had full legislative power over the colonies regardless.

The Stamp Act was an important act introduced by the British Prime Minister George Grenville that was then passed in March 1765 by the British Parliament. The purpose was to raise money for national debt of Britain after the Seven Years War and Parliament needed means to help fund expensive costs of keeping troops inside the colonies. The act levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other form of paper used in the colonies. The British Government felt that the colonies were the primary reason of the military presence and should pay a portion of the expense. The American colonies did not take kindly to this matter.

The stamp act put a tax on paper transactions including marriage certificates, ship’s papers, legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards. The colonies reacted strongly even engaging in violence. The sons of liberty destroyed the stamps and burned the house of the lieutenant governor. The colonist were not justified in reacting in the way that they did. The taxes were already imposed on Britain based citizens, their trade was protected, and the British were paying off the colonists debt.

Unlike other acts and taxes imposed by the British parliament the Stamp Act effected everyone in the colonies even the colonists who remained loyal to King eventhough, all the colonies were all equally effected by this act imposed by the British. This meant that all legal documents including permits, contracts, newspapers and even playing cards had to carry a tax stamp, the revenue (collected by American customs agents) was supposedly to be used for "defending, protecting and securing" the colonies, but the patriots would have thought differently. They just wanted to be independent from Britian. There was little expectation from Britian and the members of parliament of how intense of a protest that the Stamp Act would generate in America. As mentioned before, the colonists didn’t like to be taxed by Britian any more because they felt living separate from the mother country would only decrease the amount of taxation not

The British put the stamp act on the Americans in 1765. This was the law that states that all legal documents had to have a legal stamp on them to be valid. In Patrick Henry’s speech, he states that the colonists had no representatives in the British Parliament (Doc. 1). This idea spread all throughout America, and angered all colonists. The Americans took action, and started protests,

Stamp Act: basically required the colonists to pay a tax on every single paper document or products made out of papers (for example, dice and paper cards). This Act was passed without colonists’ approval, which is why the issue of Taxation without Representation within British Parliament became a controversial issue.

The French and Indian War ended in 1763, and although England won, it left them in enormous debt. The solution was the Stamp Act, a tax on all paper goods. Enacted in 1765, the Stamp Act upset nearly every English colonist in America. This was one of the first times colonists resisted England and this renegation acted as a precursor to the revolution ahead. England was surprised because they didn't consider the Stamp Act as anything people wouldn't agree with and felt that the colonists were responsible for paying in return from the protection England provided them during the war.

In March 22,1765 a crisis was brewing in the British's thirteen colonies over in North America. Britain passed the Stamp Act! A tax originally made so that Britain could pay off its debt from the French & Indian war was now being a catalyst for discussion and debate over Britain's right to tax the colonist. The Stamp Act was a necessity if Britain wanted to pay for the French & Indian war debt quickly as well as efficiently. The Stamp Act also provided the British with a good and reasonable way for Britain to tax its colonist.

The Stamp Act placed taxes on many products, including newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. This angered the colonists, as they were being unjustly taxed. They refused to buy or use stamps as a sign of rebellion. Critical Thinking In justifying the Stamp Act, the British claimed that Americans should have to pay for the protection that the British supplied.

The stamp act in 1765 caused the american colonists to question certain rights. The stamp act was made by the Parliament to get more money from colonists because after the French and Indian war they ran out of money.