History Brief: The Stamp Act is Repealed

The Stamp Act is Repealed. Everything students need to know.

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The Stamp Act is Repealed. Everything you need to know.

The Stamp Act (tax on legal documents, magazines, newspapers, and many other types of paper) was the first ever attempt by the British government to tax the colonists directly, rather than by taxing imported goods. While the reactions of the average citizen to the Stamp Act were extreme, and often violent, colonial leaders took a more diplomatic approach to protesting the unpopular law. How did colonial leaders go about opposing the Stamp Act?

In Boston, a group led by Samuel Adams, originally known as the Loyal Nine, organized street demonstrations against the Stamp Act. Adams openly encouraged businesses not to buy the stamps and even resorted to intimidation (and sometimes violence) to frighten tax collectors. The group eventually became known as the Sons of Liberty.

As discontent toward the Stamp and Sugar Acts grew, the American colonies became more and more united. The slogan "No taxation without representation", championed by such men as James Otis and Samuel Adams, spread throughout the colonies.

The first colonial boycott (refusal to buy British goods) began in New York in 1765, and it quickly spread to the other colonies. Colonial leaders hoped that the boycott would hurt the British economy enough that Parliament would repeal the new taxes.

In Boston, members of the Massachusetts legislature called for a Stamp Act Congress to discuss the unpopular law. Nine colonies attended the Stamp Act Congress in New York where they issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, stating that the law violated their rights as English citizens. They also petitioned Parliament to repeal the law and decided to boycott British goods until the act was revoked. This vital step pulled the American colonies even closer together.

In Virginia, a lawyer named Patrick Henry proposed a series of resolutions to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Known as the Stamp Act Resolves, it declared that only the General Assembly (House of Burgesses) had the right to levy taxes on the colony. It also stated that Britain's actions with the Stamp Act were a threat to American and British freedom. Many felt that the resolution went too far, and it was retracted the following day. Yet the message was clear. The colonies objected to direct British rule.

Due to the extreme actions of colonial citizens, not a single stamp commissioner was in business on November 1, 1765, the day the Stamp Act was to take effect. In London, merchants petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act due to the crippling impact of the boycott.

The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but Parliament, upset that the colonists had challenged their authority, issued the Declaratory Act on the exact same day. The Declaratory Act stated that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

While the new act had no direct impact on the colonies at all, the message of Parliament was also clear. King George III and Parliament objected to acts of American insubordination.