Uproar over the Stamp Act

Between 1754 and 1763, Britain and France—and their respective allies—fought the Seven Years’ War. Though the war was triggered by competing colonial claims to the Ohio territory of North America, the European allies of both Britain and France quickly became involved and the scope of the war widened dramatically to include every European great power except the Ottoman Empire.

The Seven Years' War was a world war that ended with France surrendering all claims to Canada and to territories east of the Mississippi River and Spain ceding Florida to Britain. Although the Treaty of Paris—signed in 1763 formally concluding hostilities—was favorable to Britain, much blood and treasure had been sacrificed in waging the war. After its termination, Britain sought to ease its financial difficulties by taxing the North American colonies.${}^1$‍

The first measure undertaken for this purpose in the colonies was the Stamp Act. In March 1765, British Prime Minister George Grenville authored the act, which required that all newspapers and documents—including official court documents—in the North American colonies be printed on stamped paper from London. Additionally, the stamped paper had to be purchased in British hard currency, which was much more rare than the abundant colonial paper currency.

The only opposition to the act in Parliament came from William Pitt, Grenville’s brother-in-law turned political rival. Pitt challenged Parliament’s right to tax the colonists. The British Constitution prohibited the taxation of British subjects without their consent, which was provided through representation in Parliament. Though the British had imposed restrictions and duties on colonial trade, the passage of the Stamp Act was the first time they had sought to tax the colonists for the explicit purpose of raising revenue.${}^2$‍

The Stamp Act was greeted with widespread and unconcealed hostility in the colonies. Unfortunately for Parliament, the segments of colonial society that were most detrimentally affected by the act—newspaper printers, students, attorneys, and judges—were also among the most politically active. They mobilized popular opposition to the act, which frequently took the form of street protests that sometimes turned violent. Newspapers ominously predicted the demise of the journalistic profession.

While townspeople rioted, colonial assemblies debated. Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin were among the most influential voices arguing that since the American colonies were not represented in the British Parliament, that body had no right to tax them. The slogan “No taxation without representation!” arose from colonial opposition to the Stamp Act and proved enduring. The British countered with the theory of virtual representation, which held that members of Parliament were obligated to defend the interests of British subjects and colonists alike.

In October 1765, delegates from the colonies convened in New York City at the Stamp Act Congress, where they drew up formal petitions to the British Parliament and to King George III to repeal the act. It was the first unified colonial response to British policy and it provided the British a taste of what would come soon thereafter.

The British had been receiving reports of mob violence in the colonies, and Prime Minister Grenville had been replaced by Lord Rockingham, who proved more sympathetic than his predecessor to the colonists’ demands.

In March 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed. But the stage for the American Revolution had already been set.${}^3$‍

What does the phrase “no taxation without representation” mean? Is it still relevant today?

Explain the theory of virtual representation in your own words. Was it valid?

Why did the colonists react so vehemently to the passage of the Stamp Act? How important do you think the Stamp Act was in the eventual outbreak of the American Revolution?