The Stamp Act

Who introduced the Stamp Act?

Grenville

When was the Stamp Act brought in?

Given royal assent in March 1765, and was to take effect on 1 November 1765

What was the Stamp Act?

• Required stamps to be affixed to almost anything formally written or printed in the colonies

• 50 items affected, ranging from playing cards, to newspapers, to insurance policies

• 3 pence tax

How much did the Treasury estimate would be raised by this tax?

£60,000 in its first year

Parliament response to the Stamp Tax

• Introduced to Parliament in February 1765

• Not much opposition in the Commons

• Most MPs agreed with Grenville that Parliament had a right to tax colonies and that colonies should contribute to own defence

• Bill passed easily through parliament

Summarise why the American reaction was so immense

Attacked and antagonised some of the most influential and vocal groups of colonists, lawyers, printers and tavern-keepers - these would make the loudest protest

What was ‘virtual representation’

In Parliament there were people who represented the entire British realm (colonies) so the colonists were essentially virtually represented through them

Who was Patrick Henry?

A lawyer from Virginia, famous for his denunciation of the Stamp Act in 1765 - a great orator, he served in the First Continental Congress, and later opposed the 1787 Constitution

The Virginia Resolves when, where, and who

• On 29 May 1765

• Introduced by Patrick Henry

• In the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Virginia Assembly

Summarise what the Virginia Resolves were

The Virginia Resolves were seven resolutions attacking the Stamp Act and threatening resistance

Which of the Virginia Resolves were accepted

On 30 May the remaining 39 Burgesses (as most had left for home) by no means unanimously adopted the five mildest of Henry’s resolutions:

• Colonists possessed the rights of Englishmen

• Colonists’ rights were guaranteed by royal charter

• Colonists should be taxed only if they had proper representation

• Colonists had right to give their consent to their laws

• The House of Burgesses had sole right to tax Virginians

What sort of impression did the Virginia Resolves give?

The Virginia Resolves were printed in their entirety in many colonial newspapers, therefore the impression was given that Virginia had rejected the Stamp Act and sanctioned open resistance if Britain tried to enforce it

By end of 1765, how many assemblies other than Virginia had passed resolutions condemning the Stamp Act and denying Parliament’s right to tax the colonies?

8

When and where did a Stamp Act Congress meet?

October 1765, New York

How many delegates and from how many colonies attended? What sorts of people were they?

27 delegates from 9 colonies - all men of high social standing

Points made by the Stamp Act Congress

• Denounced the Stamp Act as having ‘a manifest tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the colonies’

• Claimed that only their own legislatures could impose taxes on them

• It was the duty of the colonists to seek the repeal of the Stamp Act, the abolition of vice-admiralty courts and ‘‘of other late Acts for the restriction of American commerce’

• However, very respectful towards the King - devoted to him

Where did colonists believe that no taxation without representation was enshrined?

This was a right that Americans, as Englishmen, believed was enshrined in the English constitution

The ideological debate - why did many colonists not want representation in Parliament

• Not practical due to distance

• Their presence at Westminster would simply give Parliament the excuse to levy higher taxes on colonies - only proper way to raise money in colonies was assemblies

• Ministers (first Bute, now Grenville) to blame - standing army policy only seen as way to force colonists to yield to such oppressions as unconstitutional taxes

How were colonists also able to express discontent at Stamp Act (views similar to Stamp Act Congress)?

Pamphlets

Who were the Loyal Nine?

A group of artisans and shopkeepers from Boston

Who was the most important leader of the Loyal Nine?

Samuel Adams

Who did Samuel Adams particularly focus resentment on?

He focused resentment on purported supporters of the Stamp Act - e.g.:

• Andrew Oliver, Massachusetts’ stamp distributor

• The Chief Justice Thomas Hutchinson

• Governor Francis Bernard

Who did Samuel Adams turn to?

Adams turned to the North and South End gangs for support - these comprised of unskilled workers, sailors and apprentices, and had fought each other for years, but now united against act

Liberty Tree - what was it?

An actual (but also symbolic) tree in Boston, Massachusetts representing freedom from tyranny

What happened on the 14 August 1765 regarding the Liberty Tree?

• Effigies of Oliver and Bute were hung from the Liberty Tree

• Men stood by the tree, collecting a mock stamp duty from every passer-by

• Hutchinson ordered effigies to be cut down, but a crowd prevented this

• Towards nightfall a mob tore down Oliver’s office and destroyed his house

• Oliver quickly resigned from stamp distributor post

On 26 August 1765 what happened?

A Boston crowd damaged the houses of two British officials (goal to force them to resign), and then Hutchinson’s mansion (element of class resentment - Oliver and Hutchinson wealthy)

What did many rich Bostonians fear that popular resentment to the Stamp Act had turned into?

An attack on property by the ‘rabble’

What did Governor Bernard do in response to mob action?

Raise the militia and for several weeks maintain order

However, what did the spread of crowd action lead to ultimately?

Stamp distributors, fearing for their lives, resigned or fled in every colony

Where were the majority of Britain’s 10,000 soldiers stationed? How many garrisoned in New York and Philadelphia? Problems with army?

• Mostly stationed Nova Scotia and on the western frontier

• Only a few hundred men New York and Philadelphia

• Army could only be called out to deal with civil disobedience if a governor made a request to the military commander - none did so

Who were the Sons of Liberty?

• Autumn of 1765 the men directing crowd action belonged to this semi-secret society

• Included members of the elite as well as new men - small merchants, artisans and dissident intellectuals like Sam Adams

Why has the influence of the Sons of Liberty likely been exaggerated?

• Organisation was not united

• Limited influence in Southern colonies

• Orchestrated an urban movement - townspeople less than 5% America’s population

What happened in October 1765 regarding merchants, and also similar decision by the the Sons of Liberty?

• The Sons of Liberty appealed to the public not to buy British goods

• October 1765 leading merchants in New York signed an agreement not to import goods from Britain until the Stamp Act was repealed

• Boycott soon spread across colonies

• Non-import associations merchants, but many Americans simply boycotted British goods

Newspapers and pamphlets

1765 colonial newspapers reprinted Franklin’s cartoon (‘Join or Die’ image) so essentially spreading ideas and bringing colonies together - rhetoric anti-British and against Stamp Act

July 1765 who replaced Grenville?

A new ministry led by the Marquis of Rockingham

What did Rockingham believe?

• Wanted to see Parliament’s authority upheld but believed it best not to exercise rights, or to exercise them without discretion

• Resolved to repeal Stamp Act

Divides in MP opinions on repealing the Stamp Act

• Many MPs horrified by mob action - against repealing Act as saw it as an act of weakness

• Colonies no more unrepresented than many British towns (MPs willing to speak for America just as there were ones who could speak for Manchester and Birmingham) - many MPs did not accept American argument that as they were unrepresented in Parliament, it could not legislate for them

• Most believed in ‘virtual representation’, that they represented the interests of the whole ‘Commons of Great Britain’ (and Americans were British subjects)

What did General Thomas Gage inform Rockingham about regarding Act? How did Gage respond?

Rockingham was informed by Gage, the commander-in-chief of the colonies, that the Act could not be enforced without far greater military force than he possessed - Rockingham resolved to repeal Act

When did the Commons debate the issue of the Stamp Act?

January 1766

What did Grenville argue in Commons?

• Thought Parliament’s right to tax colonies had to be boldly asserted to avoid being lost

• Defended Stamp Act - part of the sovereign power

What did William Pitt argue in Commons?

• Praised American resistance to Stamp Act - wanted its repeal

• Declared Britain had no right to lay tax upon colonies and this took away from American liberty

Benjamin Franklin, appearing before a Commons committee, argued for what?

• Made a distinction between external and internal taxes - said colonies objected to internal taxes only and would pay duties on trade (external) in exchange for Royal Navy Protection (although this wasn’t quite right)

• Wanted Stamp Act repeal

Who was Benjamin Franklin in this context?

A colonial agent (delegate) from Pennsylvania 1757-75

What is a delegate?

A person sent or authorised to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference

External tax

Imposed on imported goods coming into the American colonies from other countries, particularly from Britain; duties on trade

Internal tax

Imposed directly on goods and services within a particular jurisdiction or territory. In the context of the American colonies, internal taxes included taxes on property, income, and various goods produced within the colonies.

These taxes were seen as a means for the colonial governments (or the British government) to raise revenue for local expenses.

The Stamp Act was repealed when?

March 1766

How many votes to or for Stamp Act

MPs voted to repeal the Stamp Act by 275 votes to 167

When was the Declaratory Act passed?

March 1766

What was the Declaratory Act?

• Stated the colonies were subordinate to ‘the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain’

• Also stated that Parliament had full authority to make laws 'to bind the colonies and people of America […] in all cases whatsoever’

What happened to the Sons of Liberty and non-importation after the repeal?

The Sons of Liberty virtually disbanded, and non-importation was abandoned

What did colonial assemblies do in response to repeal?

Send addresses of gratitude to the king

In 1765, what did most Americans see as the problem?

The Stamp Act, not British rule itself

In several colonies, the Stamp Act crisis resulted in important shifts of power; those factions who could be charged with supporting the Stamp Act lost control of the assemblies. What occurred in Massachusetts?

In Massachusetts, the Otis faction had no trouble in discrediting Governor Bernard and Thomas Hutchinson for supporting British policy

In 1766, Bernard’s supporters took a serious defeat at the polls

Summarise the lessons learned from crisis

• Americans believed they must remain vigilant in defence of their liberties

• Suggest British authority could be defied with colonial unity

• Many British politicians felt should reassert authority over the colonies that were the most difficult to control, or they would become independent by default

Summarise to what extent the repeal of the Stamp Act/the Stamp Act crsis was a turning point in relations between the colonists and the British

YES:

• In practice demanding self-rule

• In denying Parliament’s right to tax them, essentially demanding its right to govern them

• Actions - in future could boycott more, be more aggressive, could act together

• In some colonies shifts of power from factions who supported Stamp Act and British policy e.g. Massachusetts

NO:

• Sons of Liberty virtually disbanded after repeal

• Still dedicated to King - most assemblies sent addresses of gratitude to him

• 1765 most Americans believed the Stamp Act was the issue, not Parliamentary sovereignty