The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.

WHAT WAS TAXED?

Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.

WHAT WAS THE MONEY FOR?

The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of the soldiers defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. The British were in a lot of debt after the French & Indian War.

Image: The above photograph is of what a STAMP ACT stamp would look like on paper documents.

The colonists said that the act was unconstitutional, and they resorted to violence to intimidate stamp collectors into quitting their jobs. The British government passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765 and repealed it in 1766. The issues of taxation and representation raised by the Stamp Act strained relations with the colonies.