Stamp Act 1765

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

The "Stamp Act" 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III,c. 12) was the fourth Stamp Act to be passed by the Parliament of Great Britain and required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, pamphlets, dice, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Act was enacted in order to defray the cost of maintaining the military presence protecting the colonies. The Act passed unanimously on March 22, 1765, and went into effect later that year on November 1, 1765. It met with great resistance in the colonies and was never effectively enforced. Colonists threatened tax collectors with tarring and feathering, a very painful process. Few collectors were willing to risk their well-being to uphold the tax. The Act was repealed on March 18, 1766. This incident increased the colonists' concerns about the intent of the British Parliament and added fuel to the growing separatist movement that later resulted in the American Revolution. The first stamp act congress was held in New York in 1765. The main fact was that Britain needed money to repay the suppliers from the French and Indian War that was very costly to the British financially, even though they were victourious.

The American colonists did not believe their representation in the British parliament was equitable at all. To be admitted to the bar or enrolled as a notary, one would pay a tax of £10 in North America, but only £2 in Great Britain. The tax was also hard on lawyers and those who worked in the courts. They had to print papers very often, so paying taxes on their paper soon became very tedious and expensive, depending on how many documents needed stamps. Another reason the colonists were not so accepting of the tax was because it was the first tax used to raise money for England. The other taxes imposed on the Colonists were mostly used for maintaining the trading and commerce system. Fort Detroit and Fort Pitt needed garrisons, which were provided by money from the Stamp Act. But the main purpose of these forts was to protect the fur trade, not settlers. Indeed, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 had limited western settlement. For seventy years, the European Wars had carried over to North America. The French, Spanish, and Dutch had, at various times, attacked coastal properties and towns, which had been only protected by colonial militia, not the regular army. The militia had even been assigned to support actions in Canada and the west, with limited compensation from the Crown.

Stamps were generally ignored, and were often unavailable. Many times the Colonists would boycott the stamps and simply not buy them. Protest and discussion over these acts gave way to open violence in a number of instances. In Boston, an effigy of the stamp agent, Andrew Oliver, was hanged and then burned. His home was broken into, and his office, along with the stamps, was burned. The mob even went on to vandalize the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, destroying records and forcing him and his family to seek refuge at Fort William. (The elm tree used to hang Oliver's effigy later became known as the "Liberty Tree".) Organizations of protest sprang up throughout the colonies, later becoming known as the Sons of Liberty. Oliver resigned as stamp agent, and no one could be found to take the job.

Similar events occurred in other colonies, particularly in New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. Stamps were seized and destroyed, and stamp agents were harassed. Committees of Correspondence sprang up to unite in opposition. There was a general boycott of British merchandise that spread through all the colonies. When Massachusetts asked for a general meeting, nine colonies sent representatives to a Stamp Act Congress held at Federal Hall in New York in October of 1765.