The Stamp Act :: essays research papers

The Stamp Act of 1765 was a tax put on the British American colonies, sponsered by George Grenville and was the first direct tax placed on them. Parliament needed means to help fund expensive costs of keeping troops inside the colonies, so they imposed a tax on all of the colonies everyday printed materials, such as pamphlets and newspapers, and all legal and commercial documents, which all needed to have a certain special stamp placed on it. Many agents of the American colonies that resided in London had suggested other methods to obtain the needed money but where ignored and the Americans where taxed. There were many Americans who did not elect members of Parliament and they greatly opposed the Stamp Act, for two reasons, because they didn't have enough money to pay for them and also it went against their new principle that said, " No taxation without representation." This new tax made many Americans very angered and their actions that came from this started the way towards the American Revolution. There was many forms of resistance, including the king and Parliament receiving many petitions, Americans boycotting the British goods, and printers and lawyers refusing to use the stamps for stamping documents. Another major point is that violence sparked up from the Sons of Liberty, and in New York rioters got so violent that the destroyed a British officer's house because he had said that he "would cram the stamps down America throats at the point of his sword." The Stamp Act Congress was the first conference that held multiple people from several colonies, and was formed of delegates from nine of the thirteen original colonies, which were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Ilsand, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Deleware, Maryland, and South Carolina. They met in New York over the dates of October 7th to the date of October 25th, and they created a