Stamp Act Passed: Britain Taxes the Colonies, Revolution Brews
Parliament thought taxing paper was safer than taxing land. The Stamp Act of 1765 hit everything colonists touched—newspapers, playing cards, legal documents, even dice. Every sheet needed a revenue stamp, purchased in British sterling that most Americans didn't have. Benjamin Franklin, living in London as Pennsylvania's agent, initially downplayed colonial anger. He was wrong. Within eight months, stamp distributors were fleeing their posts, effigies burned in every port, and the Sons of Liberty had formed. Parliament repealed it in 1766, but on the same day passed the Declaratory Act insisting they could tax colonies "in all cases whatsoever." The British won the argument and lost an empire.
March 22, 1765
261 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Kingdom of Great Britain
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Parliament of Great Britain
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Stamp Act 1765
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British colonization of the Americas
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Parliament of Great Britain
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Stamp Act 1765
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British colonization of the Americas
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Stamp Act
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Thirteen Colonies
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