{"id":163,"date":"2015-08-21T17:59:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T17:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/ushistory1os2xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=163"},"modified":"2022-07-25T19:16:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T19:16:29","slug":"the-stamp-act-and-the-sons-and-daughters-of-liberty","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory1\/chapter\/the-stamp-act-and-the-sons-and-daughters-of-liberty\/","title":{"raw":"The 1765 Stamp Act and Colonial Reactions","rendered":"The 1765 Stamp Act and Colonial Reactions"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-highlight\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul class=\"im_orderedlist\">\r\n \t<li>Explain the purpose of the 1765 Stamp Act<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the colonial responses to the Stamp Act<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"780\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202213\/CNX_History_05_01_Timeline.jpg\" alt=\"A timeline shows important events of the era. In 1763, the Proclamation Line establishes a boundary restricting westward settlement. In 1764, the Sugar Act reduces the tax on molasses and strengthens royal oversight of trade. In 1765, the Stamp Act is introduced and the Stamp Act Congress takes place; an image of a revenue stamp is shown. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Act is represented by a portrait of Charles Townshend. In 1770, the Boston Massacre takes place; Paul Revere\u2019s depiction of the Boston Massacre is shown. In 1773, the Tea Act is introduced, and Patriots dump tea into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party. In 1774, the Coercive Acts are introduced, and the First Continental Congress takes place; a sympathetic British cartoon decrying the Coercive Acts is shown.\" width=\"780\" height=\"385\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Events leading to the Revolutionary War (credit \u201c1765\u201d: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<section id=\"fs-idp23336256\">\r\n<h2>The Stamp Act of 1765<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm41591632\">Prime Minister Grenville, author of the Sugar Act of 1764, introduced the <span class=\"no-emphasis\">Stamp Act<\/span> in the early spring of 1765. Under this act, anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp\u00a0for it. In the same year, Parliament also passed the Quartering Act, a law that attempted to solve the problems of stationing troops in North America by requiring the colonies to provide barracks at their own cost. The British Parliament understood the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act as an assertion of their authority over colonial policy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_Stamps\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"780\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202217\/CNX_History_05_02_Stamps.jpg\" alt=\"A left-hand image shows a partial proof sheet with several rows of one-penny stamps. A right-hand image shows a close-up of one of these stamps, which depicts a mantle; a circle, with St. Edward\u2019s crown inside; and a scepter and sword, which are crossed behind the crown. The circle is labeled with the words \u201cHoni soit qui mal y pense,\u201d the motto of the highest English order of chivalry. At the top of the design is the word AMERICA; the bottom reads ONE PENNY.\" width=\"780\" height=\"448\" \/> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. Under the Stamp Act, anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it. Image (a) shows a partial proof sheet of one-penny stamps. Image (b) provides a close-up of a one-penny stamp. (credit a: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government; credit b: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government)[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm12530720\">The Stamp Act signaled a shift in British policy after the French and Indian War. Before the Stamp Act, the colonists had paid taxes to their colonial governments or indirectly through higher prices, not directly to the Crown\u2019s appointed governors. The passage of the Stamp Act meant that starting on November 1, 1765, the colonists would contribute \u00a360,000 per year\u201417 percent of the total cost\u2014to the upkeep of the ten thousand British soldiers in North America. Because the Stamp Act raised constitutional issues, it triggered the first serious protest against British Imperial policy in the colonies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_StampAct\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"520\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202219\/CNX_History_05_02_StampAct.jpg\" alt=\"A left-hand image shows a newspaper publication of the Stamp Act, which contains an image of a revenue stamp. A right-hand image shows a skull and crossbones, bordered by the words \u201cAn Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP. O! the fatal STAMP.\u201d\" width=\"520\" height=\"465\" \/> <strong>Figure 3<\/strong>. The announcement of the Stamp Act, seen in this newspaper publication (a), raised numerous concerns among colonists in America. Protests against British Imperial policy took many forms, such as this mock stamp (b) whose text reads \u201cAn Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP. O! the Fatal STAMP.\u201d[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Watch It<\/h3>\r\nThis video highlights the reasoning for the Stamp Act and the colonial reactions to it.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=6788687&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=375&amp;video_id=uImdEeuLNG8&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-m5d0mizo-uImdEeuLNG8\" width=\"800px\" height=\"450px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\nYou can view the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/WM-US+History\/thestampacttranscript.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transcript for \u201cThe Stamp Act\u201d here (opens in new window)<\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>The Quartering Act<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm56910864\">Parliament also asserted its colonial authority in 1765 with the <span class=\"no-emphasis\">Quartering Act<\/span>. The Quartering Act of 1765 addressed the problem of housing British soldiers stationed in the American colonies. It required that they be provided with barracks or places to stay in public houses and that if extra housing were necessary, then troops could be stationed in barns and other uninhabited private buildings. In addition, the costs of the troops\u2019 food and lodging fell to the colonists. Since the time of King James II (1685 -1688) many British subjects had mistrusted the presence of a standing army during peacetime, and having to pay for the soldiers\u2019 lodging and food was especially burdensome. Widespread disregard for the law occurred in almost all the colonies, but the issue was especially contentious in New York, the headquarters of the British forces. When 1500 troops arrived in New York in 1766, the New York Assembly refused to follow the Quartering Act.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/section><section id=\"fs-idp61585776\">\r\n<h2>Colonial Protest: Gentry, Merchants, and the Stamp Act Congress<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idp34395024\">For many British colonists living in America, the Stamp Act raised serious civil liberties concerns. As a direct tax, it appeared to be an unconstitutional measure, one that deprived freeborn British citizens of the rights and privileges they enjoyed as British subjects, including the right to representation. According to the British Constitution, only representatives for whom British subjects voted could tax them. Parliament was in charge of taxation, and although it was a representative body, the colonies did not have<strong> direct representation<\/strong> in it. Parliamentary members who supported the Stamp Act argued that the colonists had virtual representation because the architects of the British Empire knew best how to maximize returns from its possessions overseas. However, this argument did not satisfy the protesters, who viewed themselves as having the same right as all British subjects to avoid taxation without their consent. With no representation in the House of Commons, where bills of taxation originated, they felt deprived of this inherent right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"260\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202220\/CNX_US_History_05_02_VAStampRes.jpg\" alt=\"A painting shows Patrick Henry making a speech to a room full of well-dressed colonists. As Henry gestures dramatically with his arm, the members of his audience look on and whisper to one another.\" width=\"260\" height=\"335\" \/> <strong>Figure 4<\/strong>. Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses (1851), painted by Peter F. Rothermel, offers a romanticized depiction of Henry\u2019s speech denouncing the Stamp Act of 1765. Supporters and opponents alike debated the stark language of the speech, which quickly became legendary.[\/caption]\r\n<p id=\"fs-idp48513184\">The British government knew the colonists might object to the Stamp Act\u2019s expansion of parliamentary power, but Parliament believed the relationship of the colonies to the Empire was one of dependence. However, the Stamp Act had the unintended consequence of drawing together colonists from very different backgrounds in protest. In Massachusetts, James Otis, a lawyer and defender of British liberty, became the leading voice for the idea that \u201ctaxation without representation is tyranny.\u201d In the Virginia House of Burgesses, firebrand and enslaver Patrick Henry introduced the <strong>Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions<\/strong>, which denounced the Stamp Act and the British crown in language so strong that some conservative Virginians accused him of treason. Henry replied that Virginians were subject only to taxes that they themselves\u2014or their representatives\u2014imposed. In short, there could be no taxation without representation. The colonists had never before formed a unified political front, so Grenville and Parliament did not fear true revolt until 1765.<\/p>\r\nIn response to the Stamp Act, the Massachusetts Assembly sent letters to the other colonies, asking them to attend a meeting, or congress, to discuss how to respond to the act. Many American colonists from different colonies found common cause in their opposition to the Stamp Act. Representatives\u00a0(including Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Thomas Hutchinson, Philip Livingston, and James Otis, among others) from nine colonial legislatures met in New York in the fall of 1765 to reach a consensus on whether Parliament could impose taxation without representation. The members of this first congress, known as the Stamp Act Congress, said no. These nine representatives had a vested interest in repealing the tax. Not only did it weaken their businesses and the colonial economy, but it also threatened their liberty under the British Constitution. They drafted a rebuttal to the Stamp Act, making clear that they desired only to protect their liberty as loyal subjects of the Crown. The document, called the <strong>Declaration of Rights and Grievances<\/strong>, outlined the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and trials without juries. Meanwhile, a popular protest was also gaining force.\r\n\r\nThe Stamp Act Congress issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which, like the Virginia Resolves, declared allegiance to the king and \u201call due subordination\u201d to Parliament but also reasserted the idea that colonists were entitled to the same rights as British citizens living on British soil. Those rights included trial by jury, which had been abridged by the Sugar Act, and the right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives. As Daniel Dulany wrote in 1765: \u201cIt is an essential principle of the English constitution, that the subject shall not be taxed without his consent.\u201d[footnote]Dulany, Considerations on the Propriety of imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, 8[\/footnote]\u00a0Benjamin Franklin called it the \u201cprime Maxim of all free Government.\u201d[footnote]\u201cThe Colonist\u2019s Advocate: III, 11 January 1770,\u201d Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 29, 2017. http:\/\/founders.archives.gov\/documents\/Franklin\/01-17-02-0009[\/footnote]\u00a0Because the colonies did not elect members to Parliament, they believed that they were not represented and could not be taxed by that body. The colonists rejected Parliament's notion of virtual representation, with one pamphleteer calling it a \u201cmonstrous idea.\u201d[footnote]George Canning, <em>A Letter to the Right Honourable Wills Earl of Hillsborough<\/em>, on the Connection Between Great Britain and Her American Colonies (London: T. Becket, 1768), 9.[\/footnote]\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Link to Learning<\/h3>\r\nBrowse the collection of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.masshist.org\/revolution\/stamp.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Massachusetts Historical Society<\/a> to examine digitized primary sources of the documents that paved the way to the fight for liberty, such as Virginia's Resolves.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/5b3df40a-81ff-4e26-bb00-f7639fa723c3\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Mobilization Against the Stamp Act<\/h2>\r\n<\/section><section id=\"fs-idp23028576\">\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm12132720\">The Stamp Act Congress was a gathering of landowning, educated White men who represented the political elite of the colonies and were the colonial equivalent of the British landed aristocracy. While these upper-class men were drafting their grievances during the Stamp Act Congress, other colonists showed their distaste for the new act by boycotting British goods and protesting in the streets. Two groups, the <strong>Sons of Liberty <\/strong>and the<strong> Daughters of Liberty<\/strong>, led the popular resistance to the Stamp Act.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"390\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202222\/CNX_History_05_02_SonsLibert.jpg\" alt=\"A broadside bears the words \u201cSt\u2014P! St\u2014P! St\u2014P! No: Tuesday-Morning, December 17, 1765. The True-born Sons of Liberty, are desired to meet under LIBERTY-TREE, at XII o\u2019Clock, THIS DAY, to hear the public Resignation, under Oath, of ANDREW OLIVER, Esq; Distributor of Stamps for the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay. A Resignation? YES.\u201d\" width=\"390\" height=\"258\" \/> <strong>Figure 5<\/strong>. With this broadside of December 17, 1765, the Sons of Liberty call for the resignation of Andrew Oliver, the Massachusetts Distributor of Stamps.[\/caption]\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm7500256\">Forming in Boston in the summer of 1765, the Sons of Liberty were artisans, shopkeepers, and small-time merchants willing to adopt extralegal means of protest. Before the act had even gone into effect, the Sons of Liberty began protesting. On August 14, they took aim at Andrew Oliver, who had been named the Massachusetts Distributor of Stamps. After hanging Oliver in effigy\u2014that is, using a crudely made figure as a representation of Oliver\u2014the unruly crowd stoned and ransacked his house, finally beheading the effigy and burning the remains. Such a brutal response shocked the royal governmental officials, who hid until the violence had spent itself. Andrew Oliver resigned the next day. By that time, the mob had moved on to the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson who, because of his support of Parliament\u2019s actions, was considered an enemy of colonial liberty. The Sons of Liberty barricaded Hutchinson in his home and demanded that he renounce the Stamp Act; he refused, and the protesters looted and burned his house. Furthermore, the Sons (also called \u201cTrue Sons\u201d or \u201cTrue-born Sons\u201d to make clear their commitment to liberty and distinguish them from the likes of Hutchinson) continued to lead violent protests with the goal of securing the resignation of all appointed stamp collectors.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm32954560\">Starting in early 1766, the Daughters of Liberty protested the Stamp Act by refusing to buy British goods and encouraging others to do the same. They avoided British tea, opting to make their own teas with local herbs and berries. They built a community\u2014and a movement\u2014around creating homespun cloth instead of buying British linen. Well-born women held \u201cspinning bees,\u201d at which they competed to see who could spin the most and the finest linen. An entry in <em>The Boston Chronicle<\/em> of April 7, 1766, states that on March 12, in Providence, Rhode Island, \u201c18 Daughters of Liberty, young ladies of good reputation, assembled at the house of Doctor Ephraim Bowen, in this town. . . . There they exhibited a fine example of industry, by spinning from sunrise until dark, and displayed a spirit for saving their sinking country rarely to be found among persons of more age and experience.\u201d At dinner, they \u201ccheerfully agreed to omit tea, to render their conduct consistent. Besides this instance of their patriotism, before they separated, they unanimously resolved that the Stamp Act was unconstitutional, that they would purchase no more British manufactures unless it be repealed, and that they would not even admit the addresses of any gentlemen should they have the opportunity, without they determined to oppose its execution to the last extremity, if the occasion required.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm63801904\">The Daughters\u2019 boycott movement broadened the protest against the Stamp Act, giving women a new and active role in political dissent. Women were responsible for purchasing goods for the home, so by exercising the power of the purse, they could wield more power than they had in the past. Although they could not vote, they could mobilize others and make a difference in the political landscape.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>link to learning<\/h3>\r\nEsther de Berdt Reed was born and raised in London but moved to Philadelphia when she married an American colonist. She became active in raising money for the Continental Army during the American Revolution and her husband, Joseph Reed, was George Washington's aide-de-camp.\r\n\r\nIn 1780, Esther published a pamphlet titled <a href=\"https:\/\/wams.nyhistory.org\/settler-colonialism-and-revolution\/the-american-revolution\/sentiments-of-an-american-woman\/\"><em>Sentiments of an American Woman<\/em><\/a>, which explained her own reasons for supporting the Revolution and her belief that men and women were equal in their feelings of patriotism and desire for liberty:\r\n<blockquote>\"<em>Our ambition is kindled by the same of those heroines of antiquity, who have rendered their sex illustrious, and have proved to the universe, that, if the weakness of our Constitution, if opinion and manners did not forbid us to march to glory by the same paths as the Men, we should at least equal, and sometimes surpass them in our love for the public good. I glory in all that which my sex has done great and commendable.\" <\/em>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>- <\/em>Esther de Berdt Reed<em>, Sentiments of an American Woman,\u00a0<\/em>1780<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3>Escalation of Protests<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm18690992\">From a local movement, the protests of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty soon spread until there was a chapter in every colony. The Daughters of Liberty promoted the boycott on British goods while the Sons enforced it, threatening retaliation against anyone who bought imported goods or used stamped paper. In the protest against the Stamp Act, wealthy political figures like John Adams supported the goals of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, even if they did not engage in the Sons\u2019 violent actions.<\/p>\r\nThese men, who were lawyers, printers, and merchants, ran a propaganda campaign parallel to the Sons\u2019 campaign of violence. In newspapers and pamphlets throughout the colonies, they published article after article outlining the reasons the Stamp Act was unconstitutional and urging peaceful protest. They officially condemned violent actions but did not have the protesters arrested; a degree of cooperation prevailed, despite the groups\u2019 different economic backgrounds. Certainly, all the protesters saw themselves as standing up against the corruption that threatened their liberty.\r\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_Funeral\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"585\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202223\/CNX_History_05_02_Funeral.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows a funeral procession for the Stamp Act. Funeral-goers proceed toward a vault, above which two skulls labeled \u201c1715\u201d and \u201c1745\u201d are raised. Reverend William Scott leads a procession of politicians who had supported the act, while a dog urinates on his leg. George Grenville, pictured fourth in line, carries a small coffin. In the background is a dock, with ships labeled \u201cConway,\u201d \u201cRockingham,\u201d and \u201cGrafton.\u201d\" width=\"585\" height=\"416\" \/> <strong>Figure 6.<\/strong>\u00a0This 1766 illustration shows a funeral procession for the Stamp Act. Reverend William Scott leads the procession of politicians who had supported the act, while a dog urinates on his leg. George Grenville, pictured fourth in line, carries a small coffin. What point do you think this cartoon is trying to make?[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n<\/section><section id=\"fs-idm5181536\">\r\n<h3>The Declaratory Act<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm41728640\">Back in Great Britain, news of the colonists\u2019 reactions worsened an already volatile political situation. Grenville\u2019s imperial reforms had brought increased domestic taxes and his unpopularity led to his dismissal by King George III. While many in Parliament still wanted such reforms, British merchants argued strongly for their repeal. These merchants had no interest in the philosophy behind the colonists\u2019 desire for liberty; rather, their motive was financial: the boycott of British goods by North American colonists was hurting their business. Many of the British at home were also appalled by the colonists\u2019 violent reaction to the Stamp Act. Other Britons cheered what they saw as the vigorous defense of liberty by their counterparts in the colonies.<\/p>\r\nIn March 1766, the new prime minister, Lord Charles Watson-Wentworth Rockingham, compelled Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Colonists celebrated what they saw as a victory for their British liberty; in Boston, merchant John Hancock treated the entire town to drinks. However, to appease opponents of the repeal, who feared that it would weaken parliamentary power over the American colonists, Rockingham also proposed the <strong>Declaratory Act<\/strong>, which\u00a0stated in no uncertain terms that Parliament\u2019s power was supreme and that any laws the colonies passed to govern and tax themselves were null and void if they ran counter to Parliamentary law.\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Link to Learning<\/h3>\r\nVisit <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/18th_century\/declaratory_act_1766.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Avalon Project<\/a> to read the full text of the Declaratory Act, in which Parliament asserted the supremacy of parliamentary power.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/becdb2aa-3f8c-40f2-b90d-b4382fe8190e\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>Daughters of Liberty:\u00a0<\/strong>well-born British colonial women who led a boycott movement against the imported British goods which were taxed by the Stamp Act\r\n\r\n<strong>Decleratory Act:\u00a0<\/strong>a law passed by the British Parliament following their half-hearted repeal of the Stamp Act, which declared that the British government had full and primary authority over all colonial policy\r\n\r\n<strong>direct representation:\u00a0<\/strong>when citizens of a nation are allowed to participate in free elections to choose their own representatives, who then -theoretically- vote in those citizens' best interests\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>direct tax:\u00a0<\/strong>a tax that consumers pay directly, rather than through merchants\u2019 higher prices\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>no taxation without representation:\u00a0<\/strong>the principle, first articulated in the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, that the colonists needed to be represented in Parliament if they were to be taxed\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>non-importation movement:\u00a0<\/strong>a widespread colonial boycott of British goods\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<strong>Sons of Liberty:\u00a0<\/strong>artisans, shopkeepers, and small-time merchants who opposed the Stamp Act and considered themselves British patriots\r\n\r\n<strong>Stamp Act Congress:\u00a0<\/strong>a group of 9 colonial representatives who gathered to discuss their response to the Stamp Act. They drafted the <strong>Declaration of Rights and Grievances<\/strong> against the British government, outlining all the actions they believed deprived colonists of their civil liberties\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-highlight\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"im_orderedlist\">\n<li>Explain the purpose of the 1765 Stamp Act<\/li>\n<li>Describe the colonial responses to the Stamp Act<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 790px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202213\/CNX_History_05_01_Timeline.jpg\" alt=\"A timeline shows important events of the era. In 1763, the Proclamation Line establishes a boundary restricting westward settlement. In 1764, the Sugar Act reduces the tax on molasses and strengthens royal oversight of trade. In 1765, the Stamp Act is introduced and the Stamp Act Congress takes place; an image of a revenue stamp is shown. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Act is represented by a portrait of Charles Townshend. In 1770, the Boston Massacre takes place; Paul Revere\u2019s depiction of the Boston Massacre is shown. In 1773, the Tea Act is introduced, and Patriots dump tea into Boston Harbor in the Boston Tea Party. In 1774, the Coercive Acts are introduced, and the First Continental Congress takes place; a sympathetic British cartoon decrying the Coercive Acts is shown.\" width=\"780\" height=\"385\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Events leading to the Revolutionary War (credit \u201c1765\u201d: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"fs-idp23336256\">\n<h2>The Stamp Act of 1765<\/h2>\n<p id=\"fs-idm41591632\">Prime Minister Grenville, author of the Sugar Act of 1764, introduced the <span class=\"no-emphasis\">Stamp Act<\/span> in the early spring of 1765. Under this act, anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp\u00a0for it. In the same year, Parliament also passed the Quartering Act, a law that attempted to solve the problems of stationing troops in North America by requiring the colonies to provide barracks at their own cost. The British Parliament understood the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act as an assertion of their authority over colonial policy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_Stamps\">\n<div style=\"width: 790px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202217\/CNX_History_05_02_Stamps.jpg\" alt=\"A left-hand image shows a partial proof sheet with several rows of one-penny stamps. A right-hand image shows a close-up of one of these stamps, which depicts a mantle; a circle, with St. Edward\u2019s crown inside; and a scepter and sword, which are crossed behind the crown. The circle is labeled with the words \u201cHoni soit qui mal y pense,\u201d the motto of the highest English order of chivalry. At the top of the design is the word AMERICA; the bottom reads ONE PENNY.\" width=\"780\" height=\"448\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. Under the Stamp Act, anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it. Image (a) shows a partial proof sheet of one-penny stamps. Image (b) provides a close-up of a one-penny stamp. (credit a: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government; credit b: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"fs-idm12530720\">The Stamp Act signaled a shift in British policy after the French and Indian War. Before the Stamp Act, the colonists had paid taxes to their colonial governments or indirectly through higher prices, not directly to the Crown\u2019s appointed governors. The passage of the Stamp Act meant that starting on November 1, 1765, the colonists would contribute \u00a360,000 per year\u201417 percent of the total cost\u2014to the upkeep of the ten thousand British soldiers in North America. Because the Stamp Act raised constitutional issues, it triggered the first serious protest against British Imperial policy in the colonies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_StampAct\">\n<div style=\"width: 530px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202219\/CNX_History_05_02_StampAct.jpg\" alt=\"A left-hand image shows a newspaper publication of the Stamp Act, which contains an image of a revenue stamp. A right-hand image shows a skull and crossbones, bordered by the words \u201cAn Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP. O! the fatal STAMP.\u201d\" width=\"520\" height=\"465\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 3<\/strong>. The announcement of the Stamp Act, seen in this newspaper publication (a), raised numerous concerns among colonists in America. Protests against British Imperial policy took many forms, such as this mock stamp (b) whose text reads \u201cAn Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP. O! the Fatal STAMP.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Watch It<\/h3>\n<p>This video highlights the reasoning for the Stamp Act and the colonial reactions to it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/plugin.3playmedia.com\/show?mf=6788687&amp;p3sdk_version=1.10.1&amp;p=20361&amp;pt=375&amp;video_id=uImdEeuLNG8&amp;video_target=tpm-plugin-m5d0mizo-uImdEeuLNG8\" width=\"800px\" height=\"450px\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can view the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/course-building.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/WM-US+History\/thestampacttranscript.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transcript for \u201cThe Stamp Act\u201d here (opens in new window)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Quartering Act<\/h2>\n<p id=\"fs-idm56910864\">Parliament also asserted its colonial authority in 1765 with the <span class=\"no-emphasis\">Quartering Act<\/span>. The Quartering Act of 1765 addressed the problem of housing British soldiers stationed in the American colonies. It required that they be provided with barracks or places to stay in public houses and that if extra housing were necessary, then troops could be stationed in barns and other uninhabited private buildings. In addition, the costs of the troops\u2019 food and lodging fell to the colonists. Since the time of King James II (1685 -1688) many British subjects had mistrusted the presence of a standing army during peacetime, and having to pay for the soldiers\u2019 lodging and food was especially burdensome. Widespread disregard for the law occurred in almost all the colonies, but the issue was especially contentious in New York, the headquarters of the British forces. When 1500 troops arrived in New York in 1766, the New York Assembly refused to follow the Quartering Act.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"fs-idp61585776\">\n<h2>Colonial Protest: Gentry, Merchants, and the Stamp Act Congress<\/h2>\n<p id=\"fs-idp34395024\">For many British colonists living in America, the Stamp Act raised serious civil liberties concerns. As a direct tax, it appeared to be an unconstitutional measure, one that deprived freeborn British citizens of the rights and privileges they enjoyed as British subjects, including the right to representation. According to the British Constitution, only representatives for whom British subjects voted could tax them. Parliament was in charge of taxation, and although it was a representative body, the colonies did not have<strong> direct representation<\/strong> in it. Parliamentary members who supported the Stamp Act argued that the colonists had virtual representation because the architects of the British Empire knew best how to maximize returns from its possessions overseas. However, this argument did not satisfy the protesters, who viewed themselves as having the same right as all British subjects to avoid taxation without their consent. With no representation in the House of Commons, where bills of taxation originated, they felt deprived of this inherent right.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 270px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202220\/CNX_US_History_05_02_VAStampRes.jpg\" alt=\"A painting shows Patrick Henry making a speech to a room full of well-dressed colonists. As Henry gestures dramatically with his arm, the members of his audience look on and whisper to one another.\" width=\"260\" height=\"335\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 4<\/strong>. Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses (1851), painted by Peter F. Rothermel, offers a romanticized depiction of Henry\u2019s speech denouncing the Stamp Act of 1765. Supporters and opponents alike debated the stark language of the speech, which quickly became legendary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"fs-idp48513184\">The British government knew the colonists might object to the Stamp Act\u2019s expansion of parliamentary power, but Parliament believed the relationship of the colonies to the Empire was one of dependence. However, the Stamp Act had the unintended consequence of drawing together colonists from very different backgrounds in protest. In Massachusetts, James Otis, a lawyer and defender of British liberty, became the leading voice for the idea that \u201ctaxation without representation is tyranny.\u201d In the Virginia House of Burgesses, firebrand and enslaver Patrick Henry introduced the <strong>Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions<\/strong>, which denounced the Stamp Act and the British crown in language so strong that some conservative Virginians accused him of treason. Henry replied that Virginians were subject only to taxes that they themselves\u2014or their representatives\u2014imposed. In short, there could be no taxation without representation. The colonists had never before formed a unified political front, so Grenville and Parliament did not fear true revolt until 1765.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the Stamp Act, the Massachusetts Assembly sent letters to the other colonies, asking them to attend a meeting, or congress, to discuss how to respond to the act. Many American colonists from different colonies found common cause in their opposition to the Stamp Act. Representatives\u00a0(including Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Thomas Hutchinson, Philip Livingston, and James Otis, among others) from nine colonial legislatures met in New York in the fall of 1765 to reach a consensus on whether Parliament could impose taxation without representation. The members of this first congress, known as the Stamp Act Congress, said no. These nine representatives had a vested interest in repealing the tax. Not only did it weaken their businesses and the colonial economy, but it also threatened their liberty under the British Constitution. They drafted a rebuttal to the Stamp Act, making clear that they desired only to protect their liberty as loyal subjects of the Crown. The document, called the <strong>Declaration of Rights and Grievances<\/strong>, outlined the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and trials without juries. Meanwhile, a popular protest was also gaining force.<\/p>\n<p>The Stamp Act Congress issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which, like the Virginia Resolves, declared allegiance to the king and \u201call due subordination\u201d to Parliament but also reasserted the idea that colonists were entitled to the same rights as British citizens living on British soil. Those rights included trial by jury, which had been abridged by the Sugar Act, and the right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives. As Daniel Dulany wrote in 1765: \u201cIt is an essential principle of the English constitution, that the subject shall not be taxed without his consent.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Dulany, Considerations on the Propriety of imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, 8\" id=\"return-footnote-163-1\" href=\"#footnote-163-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Benjamin Franklin called it the \u201cprime Maxim of all free Government.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u201cThe Colonist\u2019s Advocate: III, 11 January 1770,\u201d Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 29, 2017. http:\/\/founders.archives.gov\/documents\/Franklin\/01-17-02-0009\" id=\"return-footnote-163-2\" href=\"#footnote-163-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Because the colonies did not elect members to Parliament, they believed that they were not represented and could not be taxed by that body. The colonists rejected Parliament&#8217;s notion of virtual representation, with one pamphleteer calling it a \u201cmonstrous idea.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"George Canning, A Letter to the Right Honourable Wills Earl of Hillsborough, on the Connection Between Great Britain and Her American Colonies (London: T. Becket, 1768), 9.\" id=\"return-footnote-163-3\" href=\"#footnote-163-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Link to Learning<\/h3>\n<p>Browse the collection of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.masshist.org\/revolution\/stamp.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Massachusetts Historical Society<\/a> to examine digitized primary sources of the documents that paved the way to the fight for liberty, such as Virginia&#8217;s Resolves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_5b3df40a-81ff-4e26-bb00-f7639fa723c3\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/5b3df40a-81ff-4e26-bb00-f7639fa723c3?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_5b3df40a-81ff-4e26-bb00-f7639fa723c3\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Mobilization Against the Stamp Act<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"fs-idp23028576\">\n<p id=\"fs-idm12132720\">The Stamp Act Congress was a gathering of landowning, educated White men who represented the political elite of the colonies and were the colonial equivalent of the British landed aristocracy. While these upper-class men were drafting their grievances during the Stamp Act Congress, other colonists showed their distaste for the new act by boycotting British goods and protesting in the streets. Two groups, the <strong>Sons of Liberty <\/strong>and the<strong> Daughters of Liberty<\/strong>, led the popular resistance to the Stamp Act.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202222\/CNX_History_05_02_SonsLibert.jpg\" alt=\"A broadside bears the words \u201cSt\u2014P! St\u2014P! St\u2014P! No: Tuesday-Morning, December 17, 1765. The True-born Sons of Liberty, are desired to meet under LIBERTY-TREE, at XII o\u2019Clock, THIS DAY, to hear the public Resignation, under Oath, of ANDREW OLIVER, Esq; Distributor of Stamps for the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay. A Resignation? YES.\u201d\" width=\"390\" height=\"258\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 5<\/strong>. With this broadside of December 17, 1765, the Sons of Liberty call for the resignation of Andrew Oliver, the Massachusetts Distributor of Stamps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"fs-idm7500256\">Forming in Boston in the summer of 1765, the Sons of Liberty were artisans, shopkeepers, and small-time merchants willing to adopt extralegal means of protest. Before the act had even gone into effect, the Sons of Liberty began protesting. On August 14, they took aim at Andrew Oliver, who had been named the Massachusetts Distributor of Stamps. After hanging Oliver in effigy\u2014that is, using a crudely made figure as a representation of Oliver\u2014the unruly crowd stoned and ransacked his house, finally beheading the effigy and burning the remains. Such a brutal response shocked the royal governmental officials, who hid until the violence had spent itself. Andrew Oliver resigned the next day. By that time, the mob had moved on to the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson who, because of his support of Parliament\u2019s actions, was considered an enemy of colonial liberty. The Sons of Liberty barricaded Hutchinson in his home and demanded that he renounce the Stamp Act; he refused, and the protesters looted and burned his house. Furthermore, the Sons (also called \u201cTrue Sons\u201d or \u201cTrue-born Sons\u201d to make clear their commitment to liberty and distinguish them from the likes of Hutchinson) continued to lead violent protests with the goal of securing the resignation of all appointed stamp collectors.<\/p>\n<p id=\"fs-idm32954560\">Starting in early 1766, the Daughters of Liberty protested the Stamp Act by refusing to buy British goods and encouraging others to do the same. They avoided British tea, opting to make their own teas with local herbs and berries. They built a community\u2014and a movement\u2014around creating homespun cloth instead of buying British linen. Well-born women held \u201cspinning bees,\u201d at which they competed to see who could spin the most and the finest linen. An entry in <em>The Boston Chronicle<\/em> of April 7, 1766, states that on March 12, in Providence, Rhode Island, \u201c18 Daughters of Liberty, young ladies of good reputation, assembled at the house of Doctor Ephraim Bowen, in this town. . . . There they exhibited a fine example of industry, by spinning from sunrise until dark, and displayed a spirit for saving their sinking country rarely to be found among persons of more age and experience.\u201d At dinner, they \u201ccheerfully agreed to omit tea, to render their conduct consistent. Besides this instance of their patriotism, before they separated, they unanimously resolved that the Stamp Act was unconstitutional, that they would purchase no more British manufactures unless it be repealed, and that they would not even admit the addresses of any gentlemen should they have the opportunity, without they determined to oppose its execution to the last extremity, if the occasion required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"fs-idm63801904\">The Daughters\u2019 boycott movement broadened the protest against the Stamp Act, giving women a new and active role in political dissent. Women were responsible for purchasing goods for the home, so by exercising the power of the purse, they could wield more power than they had in the past. Although they could not vote, they could mobilize others and make a difference in the political landscape.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>link to learning<\/h3>\n<p>Esther de Berdt Reed was born and raised in London but moved to Philadelphia when she married an American colonist. She became active in raising money for the Continental Army during the American Revolution and her husband, Joseph Reed, was George Washington&#8217;s aide-de-camp.<\/p>\n<p>In 1780, Esther published a pamphlet titled <a href=\"https:\/\/wams.nyhistory.org\/settler-colonialism-and-revolution\/the-american-revolution\/sentiments-of-an-american-woman\/\"><em>Sentiments of an American Woman<\/em><\/a>, which explained her own reasons for supporting the Revolution and her belief that men and women were equal in their feelings of patriotism and desire for liberty:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>Our ambition is kindled by the same of those heroines of antiquity, who have rendered their sex illustrious, and have proved to the universe, that, if the weakness of our Constitution, if opinion and manners did not forbid us to march to glory by the same paths as the Men, we should at least equal, and sometimes surpass them in our love for the public good. I glory in all that which my sex has done great and commendable.&#8221; <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; <\/em>Esther de Berdt Reed<em>, Sentiments of an American Woman,\u00a0<\/em>1780<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Escalation of Protests<\/h3>\n<p id=\"fs-idm18690992\">From a local movement, the protests of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty soon spread until there was a chapter in every colony. The Daughters of Liberty promoted the boycott on British goods while the Sons enforced it, threatening retaliation against anyone who bought imported goods or used stamped paper. In the protest against the Stamp Act, wealthy political figures like John Adams supported the goals of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, even if they did not engage in the Sons\u2019 violent actions.<\/p>\n<p>These men, who were lawyers, printers, and merchants, ran a propaganda campaign parallel to the Sons\u2019 campaign of violence. In newspapers and pamphlets throughout the colonies, they published article after article outlining the reasons the Stamp Act was unconstitutional and urging peaceful protest. They officially condemned violent actions but did not have the protesters arrested; a degree of cooperation prevailed, despite the groups\u2019 different economic backgrounds. Certainly, all the protesters saw themselves as standing up against the corruption that threatened their liberty.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"CNX_History_05_02_Funeral\">\n<div style=\"width: 595px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/883\/2015\/08\/23202223\/CNX_History_05_02_Funeral.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows a funeral procession for the Stamp Act. Funeral-goers proceed toward a vault, above which two skulls labeled \u201c1715\u201d and \u201c1745\u201d are raised. Reverend William Scott leads a procession of politicians who had supported the act, while a dog urinates on his leg. George Grenville, pictured fourth in line, carries a small coffin. In the background is a dock, with ships labeled \u201cConway,\u201d \u201cRockingham,\u201d and \u201cGrafton.\u201d\" width=\"585\" height=\"416\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 6.<\/strong>\u00a0This 1766 illustration shows a funeral procession for the Stamp Act. Reverend William Scott leads the procession of politicians who had supported the act, while a dog urinates on his leg. George Grenville, pictured fourth in line, carries a small coffin. What point do you think this cartoon is trying to make?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"fs-idm5181536\">\n<h3>The Declaratory Act<\/h3>\n<p id=\"fs-idm41728640\">Back in Great Britain, news of the colonists\u2019 reactions worsened an already volatile political situation. Grenville\u2019s imperial reforms had brought increased domestic taxes and his unpopularity led to his dismissal by King George III. While many in Parliament still wanted such reforms, British merchants argued strongly for their repeal. These merchants had no interest in the philosophy behind the colonists\u2019 desire for liberty; rather, their motive was financial: the boycott of British goods by North American colonists was hurting their business. Many of the British at home were also appalled by the colonists\u2019 violent reaction to the Stamp Act. Other Britons cheered what they saw as the vigorous defense of liberty by their counterparts in the colonies.<\/p>\n<p>In March 1766, the new prime minister, Lord Charles Watson-Wentworth Rockingham, compelled Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Colonists celebrated what they saw as a victory for their British liberty; in Boston, merchant John Hancock treated the entire town to drinks. However, to appease opponents of the repeal, who feared that it would weaken parliamentary power over the American colonists, Rockingham also proposed the <strong>Declaratory Act<\/strong>, which\u00a0stated in no uncertain terms that Parliament\u2019s power was supreme and that any laws the colonies passed to govern and tax themselves were null and void if they ran counter to Parliamentary law.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Link to Learning<\/h3>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/18th_century\/declaratory_act_1766.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Avalon Project<\/a> to read the full text of the Declaratory Act, in which Parliament asserted the supremacy of parliamentary power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_becdb2aa-3f8c-40f2-b90d-b4382fe8190e\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/becdb2aa-3f8c-40f2-b90d-b4382fe8190e?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_becdb2aa-3f8c-40f2-b90d-b4382fe8190e\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Daughters of Liberty:\u00a0<\/strong>well-born British colonial women who led a boycott movement against the imported British goods which were taxed by the Stamp Act<\/p>\n<p><strong>Decleratory Act:\u00a0<\/strong>a law passed by the British Parliament following their half-hearted repeal of the Stamp Act, which declared that the British government had full and primary authority over all colonial policy<\/p>\n<p><strong>direct representation:\u00a0<\/strong>when citizens of a nation are allowed to participate in free elections to choose their own representatives, who then -theoretically- vote in those citizens&#8217; best interests<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>direct tax:\u00a0<\/strong>a tax that consumers pay directly, rather than through merchants\u2019 higher prices<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>no taxation without representation:\u00a0<\/strong>the principle, first articulated in the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, that the colonists needed to be represented in Parliament if they were to be taxed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>non-importation movement:\u00a0<\/strong>a widespread colonial boycott of British goods<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Sons of Liberty:\u00a0<\/strong>artisans, shopkeepers, and small-time merchants who opposed the Stamp Act and considered themselves British patriots<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stamp Act Congress:\u00a0<\/strong>a group of 9 colonial representatives who gathered to discuss their response to the Stamp Act. They drafted the <strong>Declaration of Rights and Grievances<\/strong> against the British government, outlining all the actions they believed deprived colonists of their civil liberties<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-163\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Modification, adaptation, and original content. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Lillian Wills for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>US History. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: P. Scott Corbett, Volker  Janssen, John M. Lund,  Todd Pfannestiel, Paul Vickery, and Sylvie Waskiewicz. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: OpenStax College. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/us-history\/pages\/5-2-the-stamp-act-and-the-sons-and-daughters-of-liberty\">https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/us-history\/pages\/5-2-the-stamp-act-and-the-sons-and-daughters-of-liberty<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Download for free at http:\/\/cnx.org\/content\/col11740\/latest\/<\/li><li>The American Revolution. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The American Yawp. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanyawp.com\/text\/05-the-american-revolution\/#footnote_9_67\">https:\/\/www.americanyawp.com\/text\/05-the-american-revolution\/#footnote_9_67<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">All rights reserved content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>The Stamp Act. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: NBC News Learn. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uImdEeuLNG8\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uImdEeuLNG8<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>All Rights Reserved<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-163-1\">Dulany, Considerations on the Propriety of imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, 8 <a href=\"#return-footnote-163-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-163-2\">\u201cThe Colonist\u2019s Advocate: III, 11 January 1770,\u201d Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 29, 2017. http:\/\/founders.archives.gov\/documents\/Franklin\/01-17-02-0009 <a href=\"#return-footnote-163-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-163-3\">George Canning, <em>A Letter to the Right Honourable Wills Earl of Hillsborough<\/em>, on the Connection Between Great Britain and Her American Colonies (London: T. Becket, 1768), 9. <a href=\"#return-footnote-163-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":969,"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"US History\",\"author\":\"P. Scott Corbett, Volker  Janssen, John M. 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