What were the roots and significance of the Stamp Act controversy?
1 Answer
Roots: Britain wanted to collect taxes to pay for the Seven Years War.
Significance: The colonists developed organized resistance against it.
Explanation:
Back in 1763, Britain and their colonies were friends. They had just won a war together, kicked the French out of North America, and had effective trade. After the war, Britain was in debt, and felt the colonists should help pay (as the war was mostly for their benefit). In 1764, British Parliament passed the Sugar Act to tax colonists for sugar and molasses.
The colonists, being the grumpy bunch they were, tended to smuggle sugar rather than paying taxes. If you take their rum (made from molasses) away, they start getting angry. In 1765, after not collecting enough money from sugar, Britain passed the Stamp Act. It taxed any official documents by requiring them to have a Parliamentary Stamp on it. In this way, the tax couldn't be avoided or "smuggled" around - otherwise the person avoiding the tax would have an illegal document.
The colonists went into hyper-angry mode. Angry (and wealthy) citizens organized boycotts of British goods until the Acts were repealed. The slogan "no taxation without representation" was attached to the boycotts. A group formed called the Sons of Liberty who would harass and even assault tax collectors.
The Stamp Act was repealed a year after.
