Stamp Act - 06/15/25

Stamp Act

A 1765 law that taxed printed items in the colonies

What was taxed

Newspapers, playing cards, legal documents

Why it was passed

Britain needed money after the French and Indian War

Colonial reaction

Colonists protested, saying “no taxation without representation”

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting in New York where 9 colonies sent representatives

Patrick Henry

Wrote a formal resolution to send to the British Crown

Samuel Adams

Started the Sons of Liberty, a group that fought for colonists’ rights

Petition to King

The Stamp Act Congress sent a complaint to King George III

Result of protests

The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766

Why it matters

Increased tensions that helped spark the American Revolution