The Stamp Act Crisis

The Stamp Act Crisis

One major event that reveals insight on the cause of the American Revolution was the passing of the Stamp Act by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. It required the colonists to pay a tax for stamped paper that all legal documents including marriage licenses, diplomas, newspapers and even playing cards were to be printed on. Prime Minister George Grenville proposed that a tax should be imposed among the colonies to help offset the costs of sending troops needed for their own protection and maintenance. The revenue that would then generate from this act was to be used solely for this purpose. In addition to this, the Stamp Act would not only make money for Britain, but Grenville intended for this tax to demonstrate Parliament's authority to tax and govern the colonies.

This angered the colonists as they regarded the Stamp Act as a complete betrayal from their home country. Not only was it a burden for them economically, the tax was also considered as the British Parliament taking advantage of its own citizens. Though other taxes and duties were passed throughout the colonies, the Stamp Act differed in a way that it was not used to regulate commerce but instead, used for the benefit of the Parliament since it would create revenue. Parliament conceded to inflict this tax without the colonists' consent and in doing so, the colonists found it offensive. If it were to pass over them without any form of resistance the door would be left open for possibly more problematical taxation in the future.

To prevent the execution of the Stamp Act, the colonists found ways to rebel against Parliament, whether informal or formal. The colonists needed to show Britain that they were not going to be dictated and told what to do if it wasn't to their advantage. The colonists proceeded to throw protests during political assemblies, they put forth pressure through popular crowd actions and riots, and they boycotted English goods. This gave Parliament a taste of what they were in for in the future when situations of colonial resistance would arise. A more formal way of the colonists' rebellion can be seen through the Stamp Act Congress. As first suggested by James Otis, the Massachusetts legislature issued for a general congress to meet in New York and find ways of resisting the British law. As a result, unity occurred within the colonists, and 27 delegates from nine colonies were sent to the meeting. They drafted a set of resolutions that stood for the colonial attitudes in response to the Stamp Act. Among the resolutions, the congress resolved that since they possessed the rights of all British-born subjects, it was their right not to be taxed without their consent, that no taxes could be imposed