Stamp Act Passed

On this day in 1765, the Stamp Act of 1765 was officially passed by the British Parliament, imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies.

The act, officially titled the American Revenue Act of 1764, was one of the direct taxes enacted to help fund Britain’s war efforts during the Seven Years’ War. To pay for the war, Parliament began to tax the colonies heavily. The sugar act, stamp act, quartering act, Townsend duties, coercive (intolerable) acts, etc., were all ways in which Parliament attempted to use the colonies to pay for England’s debts. They were also a way for Parliament and the King to remind the people in the colonies who were in charge. As tensions arose, so did the threat of revolution.

The stamp tax applied to all printed documents, such as legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards. The stamp was quite expensive, requiring the American colonies to pay a duty on each item. The passing of the Stamp Act led to significant unrest in the colonies and protests throughout America. The colonies felt that the tax was oppressive and unjust. Colonial assemblies created committees of correspondence to organize protest rallies and boycotts, all of which eventually resulted in the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Though the Stamp Act was officially repealed, it has been said that its passing helped to sow the seeds of the American Revolution. It also sparked the famous phrase “no taxation without representation” which later became a rallying cry of the Revolution.