Preview

The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
328 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution
The Impact of the Stamp Act on the American Revolution

The Stamp Act was essentially a tax on all printed materials and commercial documents. This also included newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. These materials had to carry a special stamp which needed to be purchased. This tax, along with the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act, made up the Intolerable Acts.
The Stamp Act was created to help cover the 10,000 soldiers left in the colonies after the French and Indian War. The war had put Britain over £130,000,000 by 1764. It was created by George Grenville and went into effect on November 1, 1765. This was the first direct tax imposed on the colonists by the British.
When news of the Stamp Act reached the colonies in May, the Virginia House of Burgesses stayed in session to pass a set of resolutions protesting the tax. More newspapers throughout the colonies circulated Virginia’s Resolves. As it made its way around the colonies, resolutions grew more numerous and radical. Massachusetts’s legislature circulated a call for a unified response. In October 1765, 27 delegates from 9 colonies met in New York City. This group came to be known as the Stamp Act Congress. On October 19th, the congress adopted 14 resolutions. These resolutions were then forwarded on to the King and the Parliament. It was repealed on March 18, 1766. This was the same day the Declaratory Act passes. This act gave Parliament the right to make any law for the colonies.
Unrest in the colonies died down after the Stamp Act was repealed, but the committees that it had created remained. These committees included the Committees of Correpondence, Sons of Liberty, and the boycotts were refined and used later to protest future British taxes. These acts along with the issue of taxation without representation led to the American

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Declaratory Act 1765

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page

    The act imposed that all paper documents would have to be bought with stamps which is equal to revenue and taxes. The act was placed on 1765 and later repealed in 1766 but at that time the english parliament also issued a declaratory act to reaffirm authority because the colonists argued that only their representatives could issue taxes.…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The act which imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies came at a time when the British Empire was deep in debt from the Seven Year’s War. The purpose of the tax was to help pay the cost of the troops stationed in North America. The british felt that the colonies in North America had many benefits having the british army in the colonies and should pay at least a portion of the expense. Local protest groups led by colonial landowners protested against the new tax law. Protested initiated by the sons of liberty often turned violent. The people at the colonies was not happy with the law imposed by the the British and wanted to find a way to undo the law so they wouldn't be paying more because of this. The stamp act was finally repealed on march 20…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Causes of Revolutuion

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Stamp Act in 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stamp Act of 1765

    • 1881 Words
    • 8 Pages

    It can easily be said that the Stamp Act of 1765 was the beginning of the revolution for the colonies of North America. Before the Stamp Act, there were other failed attempts to tax the colonies by the British parliament. Each attempt to gain money from the colonies was unlawful because there was a lack of representation from Parliament. The Stamp Act of 1765 was very detailed and expensive for the colonists. The Stamp Act was the final act of taxation by Parliament before the colonies started to fight back and seek independence from Britain.…

    • 1881 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Stamp Act of 1765 stated that all legal documents, newspapers, and pamphlets must be stamped with an official stamp of approval from parliament, this cost money. The money would go to British efforts in the Appalachian Mountains where England had more than 10,000 troops. The troops were stationed there to protect the colonies from Native Americans and the French. The Virginia House of Burgesses decided that anyone that supported this act was an enemy of the state. Outrage spread across the colonies and eventually the act was revoked.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Stamp act was very important in the sons of liberty what the stamp act was was a law that was passed by the british parliament in March 22,1765 the new tax meant that you had to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper you used and if you didn't have your house stamped then your house would not be…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Causes Of The Stamp Act

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What was the stamp act? The stamp act was passed by british parliament on March 22, 1765. The people had to pay taxes for their papers, documents, printed material, newspapers also there playing cards.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stamp Act Importance

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Stamp Act was were any legal documents, newspapers, and fifty other items; including diplomas to graduate to be printed on stamped or pressed paper in the American colonies. It was passed by the Parliament of Great Britian in March 22nd, of 1765 and repealed in the year 1766. This attached stamp required…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    History Rev

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1765 - Stamp Act
This required tax stamps on many items and documents including playing cards, newspapers, and marriage licenses. Prime Minister George Grenville stated that this direct tax was intended for the colonies to pay for defense. Previous taxes imposed by Britain had been indirect, or hidden.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Stamp Act Essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the acts King George III and the British Parliament placed on the colonists was the stamp act. The stamp act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set. In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate trading, not to…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apush Dbq Research Paper

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In order to raise money, they decided to tax the colonists. The Sugar Act is one of the many taxes imposed by Parliament that was to tax sugar that was bought by the colonists. Another act was the Stamp Act which is considered the first direct tax imposed by the British. This law required all colonists to pay a tax to Great Britain on all of the printed materials that they used, newspapers, magazines, and even playing cards. All of these materials were required to have a stamp placed on them, in order to show that the tax had…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unit 2 Study Guide

    • 3594 Words
    • 15 Pages

    -They passed the stamp act, which required almost all printed material, including newspapers, and other printed material produced in the colonies to carry a stamp purchased from authorities.…

    • 3594 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This required tax stamps on many items and documents including playing cards, newspapers, and marriage licenses. Prime Minister George Grenville stated that this direct tax was intended for the colonies to pay for defense. Previous taxes imposed by Britain had been indirect, or hidden.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Stamp act had a very big effect on the American Revolution. For the first time in history, the American colonists would have to pay a tax that was from their local legislature. They called it, the Stamp Act. Britain imposed this tax on commonly used things such as, documents, paper goods, and similar items. This was because these things brought great success to Britain, so by taxing the colonists, they’d be able to make more profit off of it. Because of the fact that this tax violated their rights as Englishmen, this caused the colonists to become angry. They explained the Stamp Act to be “Taxation without representation.” Taxation without representation went against the English Bill of rights made in 1689, therefore, the Englishmen refused to follow this law.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1765 the English Parliament passed another new law called the Stamp Act. It was intended to raise money to pay the defence of the colonies. It said that the colonies had to buy special tax stamps and attach them to newspapers, licenses and legal papers.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays