The Tyrannical Stamp Act Of 1765

They felt that they had settled into a new country far away from Britain and developed the colonies by themselves. Their political prowess and craving of personal freedoms had flourished alongside the growth of the colonies. One particular angered colonist was James Otis. He compares the treatment of Americans to slavery, as Britain is stripping them of their constitutional rights. In regards to taxation without representation he states the British government is not permitted to make itself capricious by randomly changing its rules to suit its own vendetta. Otis placed an emphasis on Britain not having the right to tax a man without his own consent and that doing so would be unjustly robbing Americans as the free born British subjects they are, of their constitutionally granted rights. Colonist across America supported tis viewpoint and were outraged by the Townshend Acts and Declaratory Acts leading them to defy the prejudiced dictatorship through declining British goods and one of the most infamous acts The Boston Tea Party of

When examining the events of The Stamp Act, the similarities and differences between Patriot and Loyalists’ perspectives must be considered.

American colonists left Britain with hopes of living in the freedom offered by the new land of immigrants and colonies. Instead, they were blindsided by the unfair treatment of the British, and were taken advantage of by the unwarranted power the Parliament had over the colonists. After years of being left alone by Britain, the Americans were threatened once again by the unprecedented control of the British Parliament as they were determined to be the strongest imperial power in the world. After enduring unfair taxation without representation as well as restrictions on trade set in place by the British, American nationalism sprouted and led to the Boston Tea Party, or the start of the Revolutionary War.

[ 3 ]. Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. New

“No Taxation without Representation.” Everyone has heard this quote, but how many know where it came from? In March of 1765, British Parliament passed a law that the colonists must pay a tax on any licenses, contracts, wills, warrants, playing cards, and paper. Every one of these things had to have a stamp on it to show that they paid the tax. (Stamp Act Powerpoint) This was called the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was the most important event that caused the Revolutionary War.

American colonists mainly descended from England and were loyal to the British Crown, however, politically the decisions made in the Continental Congress and the stopping of salutary neglect angered the colonists, socially, as a result of unfair taxes, colonists from all the colonies began to rebel and thus have their interests aligned which developed a sense of social unity, and economically after many unjust acts were carried out by the British Empire, the colonies began to help one another, therefore between 1750 to 1776 colonists began to cease their loyalty towards England and develop an independent American identity.

American colonists were justified after their separation from Great Britain and gaining independence. At first, the colonists didn’t mind being apart of the British colonies. However, colonists were upset at the fact that the British were abusing their power and being unjust. Soon later, with the help of Enlightenment views from several American philosophers, the colonists wanted to break free from the British crown’s chains.

Patrick Henry was an American citizen and a Governor of Virginia State and therefore a member of the Virginian General House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress. He took part in legislation process and the passage of various bills before they are subjected to the masses including those pertaining to collection and utilization of government revenue like grants and taxes. Also, he made various speeches in the house concerning The Stamp Act of 1765.

The stamp act congress was a meeting of representatives from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act in 1765. It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament; the first sign of colonial unity and organized resistance.

The colonists started out with salutary neglect, the king did not govern them. Then came the Navigation Acts in 1651 that said that all imports must be by British ships. This is the first of many acts to come. Next is the French and Indian war which leaves Britain with a massive war debt. The king now must tax the colonists for the war debt. The Albany Plan of Union is proposed by Benjamin Franklin, but declined. The proclamation of 1763, The Sugar Act, The Stamp Act, The Quartering Act and the Townshend acts cause massive protests and boycotts. The Boston Massacre occurs on March 5, 1770. Samuel Adams uses this as a time to spark anti-British feelings among the colonists. He has Paul Revere, a local silversmith, engrave two propaganda pictures

Colonist disliked the British very much, they were known at the Britain subjects but decided to identify themselves as Americans. Who can blame them? The British took advantage of these colonists, and they decided to rip away from British rule. In the process they made changes in politics, religion and economy to enhance their passion for being American.

1. The new add on to the stamp act was the taxing of the colonist on the paper products they use. This caused a problem because the colonist had no representation in parliament to decline the proposition.

The Americans had lived independently and autonomously from Great Britain since the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts in 1620. They had developed their own patriotism and did not consider themselves to be British subjects. Thus, they no longer wanted or needed Britain, for the British were like foreigners in America.

There are significant differences between the two days of rioting that took place after the passing of the Stamp Act of 1765, by the British government. The first day of rioting, August 14, 1765, can easily be linked to the passing of the Stamp Act, were it was proposed by the British Government for the colonist to pay an extra tax on all the paper that they used. This first riot came about as a rebellion against the implementation, and against the facilitators, of a tax that was seen unfair. The anger of the colonist was clearly directed towards officials, exemplified by the leveling of what was supposed to be the stamp building. The rioters then directing their anger towards the man who would be the stamp distributor for the Massachusetts

Colonists in America were just British subjects who had decided to start a new beginning in a different geological area. They transferred to America with their British culture imprinted on them. This meant they still were very similar to the British because that is where they were from. Most still had family back home and had an emotional tie. Throughout their arrival in America they faced many issues. War over the land was a very big issue. They needed help and supplies and the British supported them and had their backs. When the taxations started most of the colonist probably understood the reasoning behind it. The British had helped tremendously and they needed ways to get out of debt. They believed in the Checks and Balances that distributed