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The Stamp Act of 1765-1766 was an
act passed by the British Parliament requiring all legal documents,
licenses, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Act was inacted
in order to defray the cost of maintaining a military presence in the colonies. The Act passed unanimously on March 22, 1765 and went into effect on November 1 of that year. It met with great resistance in the colonies and was never effectively enforced. It was
finally repealed on March 18, 1766. This incident increased the colonist's concerns
about the intent of the British Parliament, and added fuel to the growing separatist movement that later resulted in the American Revolution.
Background
The Seven Years' War, ended by the Treaty of Paris, left Britain with control of Canada and the entire east coast of America. It had been the fourth war in seventy years between the European powers, and while it ended in
Britain's favor, the British government was left with a total
debt of £136,000,000. The unsettled frontier, so necessary to the fur trade acquired from the French, also required the British to maintain a standing army for its defense. This opinion was reinforced by the
rebellion of Chief Pontiac. Ten regiments, or about 6,000 troops, would be permanently stationed in North America and represented an ongoing expense.
Stamp taxes had been in use in England for a number of years, and were viewed as an
equitable source of income. Taxes applied to all forms of legal documents. The rate of these taxes ranged from a half penny on a
pamphlet or one-page newspaper to fifty pounds on a major commercial contract.
Protests and repeal
The American colonists didn't view the act as equitable at all. To be admitted to the bar or enrolled as a notary one would pay a tax of £10 in America, but only £2 in England. The tax on newspapers raised considerable opposition, especially from the newspapers
themselves.
Colonists also didn't see the advantage of a standing army. Posts such as Fort Detroit and Fort Pitt needed garrisons. But their main purpose was to protect the fur trade, not settlers. Indeed, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 had limited western
settlement. For seventy years the European Wars had carried over to North America. Coastal properties and towns had been attacked
by the French, Spanish, and Dutch at
various times, and they had been protected by colonial militia, not the regular army.
The militia had even been even assigned to support actions in Canada and the west, with limited compensation from the Crown.
Stamps were generally ignored, and were often unavailable. Protest and discussion over these acts gave way to open violence in
a number of instances. In Boston, an effigy of the stamp agent, Andrew Oliver was hanged and then
burned. His home was broken into, and his office, along with the stamps, was burned. The mob even went on to vandalize Lt.
Governor Hutchinson's home, destroying records and forcing him
and his family to seek refuge at Fort William. (The elm tree Oliver's effigy was hanged from later became known as the "Liberty Tree".) Organizations of protest
sprang up throughout the colonies, later becoming known as the Sons of
Liberty. Oliver resigned as stamp agent, and no one could be found to take the job.
Similar events occurred on other colonies, particularly in New York
City and Charleston, South Carolina.
Stamps were seized and destroyed, and stamp agents were harassed. Committees of correspondence sprang up to unite in opposition.
A general boycott of British merchandise spread through all the colonies. When Massachusetts asked for a general meeting, nine colonies sent representatives to a Stamp Act Congress to be held at Federal Hall in New York in October of 1765.
Stamp Act Congress
See main article: Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress can be seen in hindsight as an opening move in the American Revolution. Nine colonies were represented by twenty-seven delegates determined to draw up a
petition of rights and grievances, which would then be presented to Parliament. The actual petition, called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, was drawn up by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania. Its wording has ominous
significance. The basic argument was that the colonists owed the same allegiance to King and Parliament as all Englishmen, and,
in the words of the Petition, they were also "entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of [the King's] natural born
subjects." The Petition also declared that "no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed upon them, but by their
respective legislatures" and that it was "unreasonable and inconsistent, for the people of Great-Britain to grant to His Majesty
the property of the colonists." The petition asserted that the extension of the courts of Admiralty to prosecute the Act undermined "the rights and liberties" of the colonists.
The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was duly sent to the king, and petitions were also sent to both houses of parliament.
Faced with an inability to enforce the act, Parliament repealed it in the spring. The pressure from British manufacturers and
merchants over the boycott had more influence than the petitions. Parliament, in enacting the repeal said: "...whereas the
continuance of the said act would be attended with many inconveniences, and may be productive of consequences greatly detrimental
to the commercial interests of these kingdoms..."
Later effects
Some aspects of the resistance to the act provided a sort of rehearsal for the resistance to the Townshend Acts of 1767. In the American
Revolution a decade later, the Committees of Correspondence reappeared on a more formal basis. The boycott also became more
formalized, as the colonies entered into a Non Importation Agreement in 1774.
While the Sons of Liberty faded after the repeal, they were never again entirely absent. The ability of the colonies to act in
concert would also reappear in the Continental
Congress.
The colonies also came to believe that they could nullify an Act of Parliament by generally peaceful means. The issue of
no taxation without representation was raised, but not resolved. The constitutional
stakes would soon be raised higher. Still, the determination of Parliament to raise revenue in America remained.
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