The Stamp Act Crisis

In the middle part of the 1760s, the British government was reeling from the effects of the Seven Years War, which had ended in 1762. Although the war had resulted in the English domination of the eastern half of North America, it had cost a lot of money, much of it spent on military campaigns in North America. In addition, it had been determined that conflicts between the colonists and the Indians (abetted by the remaining French settlers in the region), required the continuous garrisoning of British troops in North America. By the end of 1763, the total yearly expense of the colonies was expected to reach (350,000 and Britain's total funded debt was estimated to exceed (129 million, with annual interest charges exceeding (4.6 million. It was clear that new methods of raising revenue would have to be explored.

Plans for a widely expected tax on stamps for all documents in the colonies began in 1763; the Grenville ministry, however, did not include such a proposal in the Revenue Act of 1764 (popularly known as the Sugar Act), proposed and passed in March of 1764. Instead, introduction of the stamp tax resolutions in Parliament was delayed for a year, possibly to provide the colonists with an opportunity to either propose a less burdensome tax or levy a stamp tax themselves. In actuality, a stamp tax had long been imposed upon residents of the British Isles on such items as marriage licenses, stock transfers, and newspapers; unsuccessful attempts had p

Related Essays

Writs of Assistance .... of the Protestant succession, was emphasized in England, Ireland, and the colonies, just as it had been by the Sons of Liberty during the Stamp Act crisis. .... (1761 7 )

The Radicalism of the American Revolution .... Sam Adams won his first term to the Massachusetts General Assembly in 1765, but it was the Stamp Act Crisis that convinced Adams that an opportunity to attack .... (3068 12 )

OTIS AND JEFFERSON ON COLONISTS' RIGHTS .... of mob violence and destruction of the property of British citizens and loyalists which increasingly occurred during the Stamp Act crisis and subsequently. .... (2291 9 )

Tories .... Britain and British policy, "When the tensions of the imperial crisis finally sparked .... the two sides emerged with the passing of the Stamp Act which burdened .... (909 4 )

The Minutemen and Their World: A Review .... However, during the Stamp Act crisis of 1765, the town meeting instructed its representative on the General Council, Charles Prescott, a Tory, to vote in favor .... (1722 7 )

ves and that since Virginians sent no representatives to Parliament, Parliament had no right to tax Virginians. As news of the Virginia resolution spread during the summer, eight other colonial legislatures also passed resolutions denouncing the Act and denying Parliament's right to tax the colonists. In October, a Stamp Act Congress, composed of representatives from nine colonies, also passed declarations of colonial rights. The unofficial reaction in the colonies, however, was much more violent. Beginning in Massachusetts, riots broke out, targeting official representatives of the British government, as well as agents sent from London to implement the provisions of the Act. In Massachusetts, the violent reaction focused upon the person of Thomas Hutchinson, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, holder of several appointed political positions, and political enemy of many. Hutchinson's brother-in-law had been appointed stamp distributor for Massachusetts and many publicly questioned Hutchinson's views on the Act. Although Hutchinson was against the Act, he did not deny that Parliament had the right to impose taxes upon the colonies and most people believed that Hutchinson secretly supported the Act. On the night of August 26, a mob des

Category: History - T