Nancy Morton
Dr. Craig Semsel
HSTY 151
February 23, 2013
The Stamp Act was an important act introduced by the British Prime Minister, George Greenville, and it was passed in March 1765 by the British Parliament. Its purpose was to raise money for the British army stationed in the American colonies after they won the Seven Years’ War. The Stamp Act required tax stamps for public documents such as, newspapers, legal documents, customs documents, licenses, deeds, almanacs, and even playing cards (lecture date).
Since Britain was left with a large national dept of £140 million from the Seven Years’ War, the British government felt that since the colonies benefited that they should be contributing to the expenses. The American colonies acted very strongly against this matter.
During the summer of 1765, there were many protests in the colonies. These protests involved everyone from civic leaders to street mobs. In many cities and towns the slogan became “no taxation without representation (text, page).” The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization that often organized said protests. Many acts of violence and a lot of pressures were centered towards the stamp agents, and by fall, almost all of the stamp agents had resigned.
In October of 1765, in New York City, a Stamp Act Congress was held; it represented nine of the thirteen colonies. The Stamp Act Congress declared that stamp taxes could not be collected without the people’s consent and that the colonists’ right to be taxed was only by their own elected representatives. Merchants agreed not to import British goods until the law was repealed (document, page).
The Term Paper on Stamp Act England Colonies British
... Stamp Act. This measure levied a direct tax on all newspapers printed in the colonies and on most commercial and legal documents ... required its towns to provide primary education. The protests against British injustice printed in papers, pamphlets, and books could ... army.Another measure-the Quartering Act-required each colony to bear part of the expenses incurred by British troops when stationed or ...
The Stamp Act Congress then wrote petitions, as well as a declaration of their rights, to King George and the Parliament. Finally, one year after it had begun, the Stamp Act was begrudgingly repealed by the British Parliament.
Even though Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they had not yet given up the right to tax the colonies, as is clear in the Declaratory Acts, and in 1767 they passed the Townshend Acts. These new acts put new taxes on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea and were designed to raise £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies. The result of the taxes was the same as that of the Stamp Act – colonists protesting to pay and once again boycotting British goods.
The colonists reacted to the new tax a lot less seriously than what Parliament had expected. This was due mainly to the fact that it was not as direct as the Stamp Act had been; and also they found they could acquire smuggled tea for a cheap price. Even still, there were many protests in Boston. During one particular on in March 1770, several Bostonians started throwing snow and ice balls at the British. This event later led to the starting of the Boston Massacre (text, page).
Various taxes in Pennsylvania at the time included real and personal estate, poll, all offices trades and professions, wine and rum, as well as a duty on all Negroes imported (document, page).
Also included in these were the Sugar Act and the Currency Act, both of which were approved in 1764, and the Quartering Act in 1765. Although, the most remembered taxes of the time were the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.
The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act of 1764, was passed by British Parliament in 1764 to counter the smuggling of foreign sugars. The act not only was a modification of the Molasses Act but also allowed officials to seize colonial cargo with little to no cause. The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses, but Prime minister, George Greenville, became stricter in regards to enforcing the act. The Sugar Act was one of the first attempts Parliaments made to try and have colonists contribute to the costs of the Seven Years War. It also marked the first time that Parliament tried to directly tax the colonists Unlike previous acts, which were to regulate the economy of the British Empire, the Sugar Act was to raise money for the British government.
The Essay on General Gage British Troops Colonists
1. Letter to friend in England. Dearest Friend of England, 1776 I know it is hard to believe we (the colonists) would be on the verge of a revolution against our own homeland. My father has explained to me the reasons we deserve independence from God, the King, and the British people. There are many things going on in the colonies to lead us to our current thoughts. The British people have imposed ...
Currency was hard to come by for the colonists which made it difficult to conduct trade. The colonists had not found any gold or silver mines and they felt currency could only be obtained through trade with Great Britain. Many of the colonists saw no other alternative to printing their own paper money; but as not regulation value had been set, their system became very confusing very quickly. The British were very uncomfortable with this system, especially after Benjamin Franklin tried explaining the colonial currency to the Board of Trade.
In September 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act.
British merchant-creditors were very uncomfortable with this system, not only because of the obvious complexity, but because of the rapid depreciation of the notes due to regular fluctuations in the colonial economy. On September 1, 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act, effectively assuming control of the colonial currency system. The act prohibited the issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency. Parliament favored a “hard currency” system based on the pound sterling, but was not inclined to regulate the colonial bills. Rather, they simply abolished them. The colonies protested vehemently against this. They suffered a trade deficit with Great Britain to begin with and argued that the shortage of hard capital would further exacerbate the situation. Another provision of the Currency Act established what amounted to a “superior” Vice-admiralty court, at the call of Navel [sic] commanders who wished to assure that persons suspected of smuggling or other violations of the customs laws would receive a hearing favorable to the British, and not the colonial, interests.
