In March of 1765, Parliament and the King of Great Britain, George III, enacted the “Duties in American Colonies Act 1765”. The law required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used, as well as playing cards and dice. The British Parliament created the act to impose a direct tax on the British colonies in America. The act required most printed material to carry a revenue stamp, thus tit became known as “The Stamp Act”. The act inflamed the passions of the American colonies, as the revenue generated was not only intended to pay for British military troops stationed in the colonies, but was also seen as a violation of the colonist’s basic rights. The act amounted to taxation without representation; many believing that the right to taxation was reserved to the colonial legislatures in which the citizens were represented. The colonist’s resentment at being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives was already reflected the earlier writings of James Otis, a Boston lawyer and political activist, who wrote in “Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved” that “the very act of taxing, exercised over those who are not represented, appears to me to be depriving them of one of their most essential rights, as freemen; and if continued, seems to be in effect an entire disfranchisement of every civil right.” It is Otis to whom the anti-British rallying cry “Taxation without representation is tyranny” has been attributed. Protests, both formal legislative and informal disobedience of the act, grew quickly. Within weeks, in May of 1765, Patrick Henry introduced in the Virginia House of Burgesses seven resolutions condemning the Stamp Act, reasserting the belief that only local legislatures had the right to tax the colonists. Four of the resolutions were adopted by the House of Burgesses on May 30, 1765. 1Resolved That the first adventurers and settlers of this his Majesty’s Colony and Dominion of Virginia brought with them and transmitted to their posterity, and all other his Majesty’s subjects since inhabiting in this his Majesty’s said colony, all the Liberties, Privileges, Franchises and Immunities, that have at any time been held, enjoyed and possessed by the people of Great Britain. 2Resolved That by two Royal Charters, granted by King James the First the colonists aforesd are declared entitled to all Liberties, Privileges and Immunities of Denizens and natural Subjects to all intents & purposes, as if they had been abiding & born within the realm of England. 3Resolved That the taxation of the people by themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who can only know what taxes the people are able to bear, or the easiest method of raising them, and must themselves be affected by every tax laid on the people, is the only security against a burthensome taxation, and the distinguishing characteristic of British freedom, without which the ancient constitution cannot exist. 4Resolved That his Majesty’s liege people of this his most ancient and loyal colony have without interruption enjoyed the inestimable right of being governed by such laws, respecting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived from their own consent, with the approbation of their Sovereign or his substitute; and that the same hath never been forfeited or yielded up but hath been constantly recognized by the Kings & People of Great Britain. In Boston a group of men calling themselves “The Loyal Nine” met to organize their own response to the Stamp Act. These nine men; John Avery, Henry Bass, Thomas Chase, Stephen Cleverly, Thomas Crafts, Benjamin Edes, John Smith, George Trott and Henry Welles, planted the seeds of what would become the Sons of Liberty. On August 14th their efforts to intimidate the stamp agents, who collected Parliament's taxes, turned violent. As dawn broke, an effigy of Andrew Oliver, Distributor of Stamps, was found hanging on a tree on Newbury Street. On its arm was written “It’s a glorious to See a stamp-man hanging on a Tree”. A mob soon grew, and after burning the effigy proceeded to the home of Andrew Oliver, breaking down his fence and damaging his coach house. The mob wanted him to take an oath that he would not exercise the office or collect taxes from the Stamp Act. Within two weeks, another mob, this one armed with clubs, marched to the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, ransacking his home, stealing valuables and destroying public papers in his possession. On August 26, Andrew Oliver informed the Stamp Master of Connecticut, Jared Ingersoll, of his intention to resign from his office. Andrew Oliver was forced to publicly renounce his post in December of 1765. Meanwhile in the Massachusetts legislature, on the motion of James Otis, an invitation to address their mutual grievances against Great Britain was sent to each of the colonial legislatures calling upon them to send delegates to a congress to be held at the City Hall in New York in October, 1765. Representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies attended, with Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Virginia not represented. Connecticut: Eliphalet Dyer, William Johnson, David Rowland Delaware: Thomas McKean, Caesar Rodney, William Murdock Maryland: Thomas Ringgold, Edward Tilghman Massachusetts: James Otis, Oliver Partridge, Timothy Ruggles New Jersey: Joseph Borden, Hendrick Fisher, Robert Ogden New York: William Bayard, John Cruger , Leonard Lispenard, Philip Livingston, Robert Livingston Pennsylvania: George Bryan John Dickinson, John Morton Rhode Island: Metcalf Bowler, Henry Ward South Carolina: Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, John Rutledge These men of the “Stamp Act Congress” produced a "Declaration of Rights and Grievances" claiming that American colonists enjoyed the same rights as other British citizens, and argued that without colonial representation in Parliament, that body could not tax the colonists. This petition to King George III and Parliament was adopted on October 19th and signed by the delegates of six colonies; the others having been sent only as observers.
The members of this congress, sincerely devoted, with the warmest sentiments of affection and duty to His Majesty's person and government, inviolably attached to the present happy establishment of the Protestant succession, and with minds deeply impressed by a sense of the present and impending misfortunes of the British colonies on this continent; having considered as maturely as time would permit, the circumstances of said colonies, esteem it our indispensable duty to make the following declarations, of our humble opinions, respecting the most essential rights and liberties of the colonists, and of the grievances under which they labor, by reason of several late acts of Parliament. 1st. That His Majesty's subjects in these colonies owe the same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain that is owing from his subjects born within the realm, and all due subordination to that august body, the Parliament of Great Britain. 2d. That His Majesty's liege subjects in these colonies are entitled to all the inherent rights and privileges of his natural born subjects within the kingdom of Great Britain. 3d. That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted rights of Englishmen, that no taxes should be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives. 4th. That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great Britain. 5th. That the only representatives of the people of these colonies are persons chosen therein, by themselves; and that no taxes ever have been or can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislatures. 6th. That all supplies to the crown, being free gifts of the people, it is unreasonable and inconsistent with the principles and spirit of the British constitution for the people of Great Britain to grant to His Majesty the property of the colonists. 7th. That trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies. 8th. That the late act of Parliament entitled, "An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties in the British colonies and plantations in America, etc.," by imposing taxes on the inhabitants of these colonies, and the said act, and several other acts, by extending the jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty beyond its ancient limits, have a manifest tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the colonists. 9th. That the duties imposed by several late acts of Parliament, from the peculiar circumstances of these colonies, will be extremely burthensome and grievous, and, from the scarcity of specie, the payment of them absolutely impracticable. 10th. That as the profits of the trade of these colonies ultimately center in Great Britain, to pay for the manufactures which they are obliged to take from thence, they eventually contribute very largely to all supplies granted there to the crown. 11th. That the restrictions imposed by several late acts of Parliament on the trade of these colonies will render them unable to purchase the manufactures of Great Britain. 12th. That the increase, prosperity, and happiness of these colonies depend on the full and free enjoyment of their rights and liberties, and an intercourse, with Great Britain, mutually affectionate and advantageous. 13th. That it is the right of the British subjects in these colonies to petition the king or either house of Parliament. Lastly, That it is the indispensable duty of these colonies to the best of sovereigns, to the mother-country, and to themselves, to endeavor, by a loyal and dutiful address to His Majesty, and humble application to both houses of Parliament, to procure the repeal of the act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, of all clauses of any other acts of Parliament whereby the jurisdiction of the admiralty is extended as aforesaid, and of the other late acts for the restriction of the American commerce. Parliament refused to recognize these rights, instead passing the Declaratory Act in March of 1766, asserting the authority to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever". At the same time Parliament did repeal the Stamp Act, but by this time the seeds of Revolution had been firmly planted in the hearts and souls of the American colonists.
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Michael WoodHistorical milestones in our fight for liberty 1765-1783 Archives
February 2022
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