The Stamp Act Conflict

The British Stamp Act placed a tax on the American colonies.

The Stamp Act was a British measure passed in 1765 that effectively placed a tax on letters, legal documents and many different paper goods used in the American colonies. The colonists did not accept the tax.

History

The war with France had left the English treasury depleted, and England needed revenue. Parliament settled on a stamp tax, a form of taxation which had long been used in England.

Colonial Taxation

The American colonies, though generally loyal to Britain, had grown accustomed to a lack of taxation by the mother country. They viewed the proposed stamp tax as an incursion on their rights.

Stamp Act

The Stamp Act of 1765 required a purchased stamp to be placed on on all sorts of documents printed on paper, from wills and contracts to licenses and playing cards. Parliament passed the Act by a considerable majority.

Boycott

American colonists protested the Stamp Act, taking mob action against British stamp collection agents and beginning a coordinated boycott of British goods that would last throughout the Revolution.

Repeal

The American boycott hurt British trade so badly that Parliament was forced to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766. The repeal was well-received in America and created a brief hiatus in the boycott, although subsequent British legislation would create new colonial grievances.

References

• "The March of Folly"; Tuchman, Barbara; Alfred Knopf Publishing; 1984
• "A People's History of the United States"; Zinn, Howard; Harper Collins; 1980
• Tax History Museum: 1756-1776: The Seven Years War to the American Revolution