Stamp Act

During the French and Indian War, the Seven Years’ War in North America, colonial forces fought alongside British troops to gain large swathes of North America. How did that relationship worsen to the point that fighting broke out and started the American War of Independence in the span of only a decade?

Motives for Britain's New Colonial Policies

After the Seven Years’ War ended in 1763, Britain was left with a huge territory in North America: much of which it had won from Spain and France, such as Quebec. However, this land was incredibly expensive to maintain and Britain’s debt nearly doubled to between £132 million and £135 million during this expansion.¹

Naturally, Britain turned to its American colonies as a source of revenue to reduce its debt. Parliament passed the Revenue Act of 1762 in an attempt to halt bribery and collect taxes from its colonies. This act enforced taxes on all British Colonies, not only American British ones.

The British Prime Minister, George Grenville, wanted to tighten British control over the British American colonies. He believed that the colonies had indulged for “far too long”. His time in power marks the end of the period of salutary neglect.

Fig. 1 - Painting of George Grenville.

Acts Imposed on the Colonies

Several Acts were passed imposing taxes on goods in the Colonies to save and raise money so that Britain could reduce its debt.

Sugar Act 1764

This act was aimed at ending the smuggling of sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. This act impacted the economies of the New England colonies the most because they were heavy consumers of molasses. This is because these colonies used sugar and molasses to make rum: an important export in their trade with other countries.

The Colonies were unwilling to pay the taxes, and the smuggling continued.

This was particularly significant because colonists were beginning to rebel against British rule on the grounds that it was “unconstitutional”. The separatist sentiment was beginning to emerge in the Thirteen Colonies.

Stamp Act 1765

The Stamp Act, officially the Duties in American Colonies Act, placed a tax on all printed materials. This included newspapers, magazines, legal documents, and playing cards. When the tax was paid, a stamp was placed on each of the goods. Furthermore, all of these materials had to be printed on official British stamped paper and the tax had to be paid in British, rather than Colonial currency.

Fig. 2 - Proof sheet of one-penny stamps. These were submitted for approval to Commissioners of Stamps. The date on the sheet is 10 May 1765

Stamp Act Summary

The tax raised by this act was ostensibly to pay to station British troops in the Colonies to pre-empt a French invasion. However, there was no serious worry among the Colonists of a French invasion, and they were frustrated given that they felt they had already paid their fair share towards defeating the French during the Seven Years' War given they had fought on the side of the British.

The Stamp Act was extremely unpopular among Colonists. They showed their displeasure with the Act by boycotting British goods, rioting, and attacking tax collectors. Many considered this act to be a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed only with their consent. The only way for the Colonists to give their consent would be through Colonial legislatures. This idea birthed the famous phrase "No taxation without representation".

Quarter Act 1765

Shortly after the passage of the Stamp Act, Great Britain passed the Quarter Act. This Act required Colonial governments to provide barracks and food for any British troops stationed in their Colony, saving the British government money. However, it was repealed in 1770 when Parliament realised that enforcing it actually cost more than the money they saved by forcing the Colonies to pay for the troops' food and board.

Opposition to the Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was deeply unpopular with the Colonists. They can be split into two groups: the elite and the lower class. While both groups viewed British rule as tyrannical and disagreed with the legislation, the elite kept their distance from the violence that the lower class was committing.

Essentially, the lower class formed groups to attack the stamp collectors. The 'Sons of Liberty' were formed in Boston in 1765 and spread across several colonies within a year.

Fig. 3 - Samuel Adams, founder and leader of the Sons of Liberty who opposed the Stamp Act.

Colonial Stamp Act Reaction

In response to the Stamp Act, nine Colonies came together and convened the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first time Colonies united to respond against British policies. Moderate representatives of these nine Colonies framed resolutions of “rights and grievances” and petitioned the King and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Merchants also supported repealing the Stamp Act too, as the smuggling which resulted from the taxes meant that they were losing business. The Stamp Act Congress would influence the calling of the First Continental Congress in 1774.

Fig. 5 - Portrait of James Otis. Otis was considered the heart and soul of the Stamp Act Congress.

The Prime Minister, Lord Rockingham, adopted a very conciliatory approach and persuaded Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. Although this pacified the Colonies for a time, his party quickly lost favour and he was replaced by William Pitt. During Rockingham’s time as Prime Minister, Parliament passed the Declaratory Law, stating that only Parliament could make laws concerning the Colonies.

Committees of Correspondence

The Committees of Correspondence were a series of political groups which helped colonial leaders communicate with Parliament about the colonists’ rights. They can be viewed as the successors to the Stamp Act Congress. More importantly, they helped facilitate the spread of ideas and information within and between the Thirteen Colonies. They were therefore instrumental in garnering public support for independence from Britain.