Stamp Act

Stamp Acts Of 1765

The Stamp Act of 1765 (aka Duties in American Colonies Act) was the 4th stamp act to be passed by the United Kingdoms in March 22 of 1765 (the first being the Stamp Act of 1689). It imposed a stamp tax on the American colonists which included all legal documents, public documents, newspaper, pamphlet, and other paper products. The tax created an uprising in the colonies as it cost 2 pence to be enrolled in a notary in England while 10 pence to be enrolled in the United States. It was especially hard on lawyers and other public workers as they often needed to use paper documents which required the British seal.

Due to the unfairness of the tax and that most of its proceeds were not being reinvested into the American colonies, the tax was widely ignored. Colonies would outright refuse to pay the tax, and threaten to tar and feather any official who tries to collect on it. Because of the difficulty in enforcing this law and the general resentment of it, Parliament decided to repeal the stamp tax in 1766.

Unfortunately, this is just the start of a serious of disputes in the matters of taxation between Great Britain and the American colonies. This event is seen by many as the beginnings of the American Revolution.