The Stamp Act that Led to the American Revolution Essay

Shortly following the French and Indian War, the American Colonies were issued many taxes and laws, which were passed by Great Britain. The colonists believed that King George III was becoming more of a tyrant, and less like a king of England. These taxes and laws were believed to be very unfair in the eyes of the colonists, causing great conflict between Great Britain and the American Colonists. This conflict would ultimately lead to the American Revolution. The American Revolution was caused by numerous British taxes like the Tea Act, the Intolerable Acts, the Stamp Act, and the Quartering Act, resulting in resistance from the colonists.

Three years later more duties were imposed on the colonies through the Townshend Acts, which placed taxes on lead glass, paper, and tea. It reorganized the American Customs Service, which enforced the Navigation Act, the Sugar Act, and now the Townshend Acts. The Americans responded to this in many ways, but primarily by boycotting all British goods and by implementing a non-importation agreement. After losing much money, the British decided to repeal the Townshend duties and others, except

It was the Tea Act. This act stated that only the British East India Company could sell or transport tea. Members of parliament passed this act because many of them had stakes in the company. At the time the British India Company was going bankrupt. This act threatened all colonial businesses by creating a monopoly. In Boston, the colonists devised a plan to resist this act. Several colonists dressed as Indians to deceive the British. These colonists seized the imported tea and dumped it into the harbor. The colonists dubbed this “the tea party.” The British responded to these actions by creating four acts jointly called the Coercive Acts. These acts closed the Boston ports to all trade, increased power of Massachusetts governor, granted trials of royal officials in Massachusetts be tried elsewhere, and allowed the new governor rights to quarter his troops anywhere. These Coercive Acts only angered the colonists more. They have strengthened their non-importation of British goods. They have also begun the forming of local militia companies.

War never truly has one person or side at fault; each front brings something to the table. Nevertheless, the American Revolution is a conflict that raises major debate over who to blame. The American colonies were at a standstill. How could a new nation grow with such a controlling mother country always on its back? As a result of the French Indian War, the British had to pay for their colonies war debts. For England to pay for these debts, Parliament imposed multiple harsh taxes and acts on colonists. Millions of British pounds used to fund the war were expected to be returned to Great Britain. Why does a British colony have to pay England for a war that the British were fighting in the first place? After some consideration, the

The stamp act of 1765 was another cruel thing that horrible King George imposed. Colonists had to pay an unnecessary amount of money to purchase stamps. Colonists had little money and it took months to send mail to Britain and back. Colonists had no other way to communicate to

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

     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 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 Townshend act was proclaimed in 1767. The colonists viewed it as an abuse of power after the last acts. The act was eventually repealed but left the tax on tea. Some of the imported items that it taxed were: glass, lead, paints, paper and tea.

The Townshend Act was passed on 2nd July 1776. The act involved a series of acts that imposed duties on paper, glass, lead, paints and all tea imported into the colonies. The series of measures were introduced by the Exchequer Charles Townshend into the English Parliament. Although many Americans viewed the extra taxation as slavery and abuse of power, its initiator, Mr. Townshend hoped the act would provide money for imperial expenses in the colonies. The act eventually lead to imports from America being limited. After the many complaints and dissatisfaction from the American, the English Parliament finally amended the act in 1770. All duties were scrapped except the tax on tea. This was the last harassment that

This act taxed paper products and official documents in colonies and it was very unpopular. It taxed such things like cards, paper, cash, etc. When the colonists opposed this act they reacted very strongly to it. Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams spoke out against the Stamp Act. From this act the Townshend Act was established, in 1767. In this act Parliament repealed the stamp act, so the Townshend act was put in their place. It taxed imports of lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea. The colonists boycotted the purchase of these goods in protest, and said, "No taxation without

a) The Stamp Act was issued in 1765 by Parliament, and it forced colonists to pay a tax on all printed documents such as newspapers, pamphlets, college diplomas, land titles, and playing cards. This tariff was created in order to cover part of the cost of stationing the British troops in America which proved to be very costly.

The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, and is marked as one of the greatest catalysts of the American Revolution. Colonists were enraged by British taxation without proper representation after the French and Indian war. The war had cost the crown dearly and in response, parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 and the Townsend Revenue Acts in 1767 as an effort to replenish their depleted treasury. Parliament retraced the Stamp Act and the taxes put in place by the Townsend Acts, except for a duty on tea; a "demonstration of Parliament's ability and right to tax the colonies"("The Boston Tea Party"). This caused patriots across the country to refuse to allow ships of tea to land as a protest of Parliament's unfair taxation on the

The Proclamation line would forbid colonists from settling west of the Appalachians. This new measure infuriated colonists who felt cheated because the land they had fought so hard for had been given away to the Indians.

The Tea Act of 1773 was a tax on tea but, the British lowered the cost of tea significantly enough that even with the tax, British tea was cheaper than Dutch tea. Also to keep the price down, the British East India Co. got rid of the middleman in the colonies and opened up their own shops. If the colonists bought this tea, they would be accepting the fact that the British could tax without representation. On Dec. 16th 1773 the ships docked at the Boston ports. The Sons of Liberty dressed up as Indians and threw 324 chests of tea into the water. England responded to the Boston Tea Party by the Coercive Act of 1774.