On March 18, 1766, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, a tax upon the American colonies. Law for roughly one year, the Stamp Act was reviled by most Americans who saw the tax as an infringement upon their rights because the colonists had no representation in Parliament.
From 1754 to 1763, Great Britain had been engaged in the largest war the world had ever known to that point. The Seven Years' War, (known as the French and Indian War in America), had raged not only in Europe and North America but also in India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Philippines and upon seas all over the world. Britain ultimately emerged as the winner in the contest, forcing its enemy France to make large territorial concessions in North America. Canada and the territory from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River became British possessions.
Upon the conclusion of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, most American colonists, still considering themselves English, looked forward to a long peace. The peace, however, brought with it the seeds of future conflict between the colonies and the mother country. Though Britain had gained much from its victory, it also ended the war with £137 million in wartime debt. Added to that, Britain now felt that it was in its strategic interest to station troops on the American frontier to make certain the French or Spanish did not attempt military action. This required additional military spending.
The question then became one of making the empire fiscally sound. When George Grenville became the prime minister of Great Britain in April 1763, he also took the position of chancellor of the exchequer (the British equivalent of the later American office of secretary of the treasury), highlighting just how seriously the British took their money problems at this time. The British needed to find a way to raise revenue, and Grenville believed he'd found the answer.
In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which was expected to bring £40,000 annually into British coffers. Many Americans, Samuel Adams and James Otis chief among them, protested this new infringement upon the American economy. Though angry, and a few instances of violence did break out, many Americans simply resorted to buying smuggled sugar and not paying the tax. It was the Stamp Act, passed by Parliament in 1765, however, that set London and its colonies on a collision course.
The act began: “An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expences of defending, protecting and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several acts of parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations, as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned.”
The text of the act then went on to list the duties that would be levied upon specific items. Newspapers, pamphlets and attorney’s licensees — which were necessary for everyday commerce and public enlightenment — were taxed. Even playing cards and dice now had duties placed upon them. Americans were outraged not only at having to pay more money for these things but also because Americans had not been consulted in the creation of these taxes. To the colonial mind, the very conception of liberty rested heavily on the right to consent to paying taxes.
Many voices throughout the colonies objected to the new taxes as soon as rumor of their passing reached the colonies. In the Virginia House of Burgesses, Patrick Henry listed a number of resolutions that he wanted the House to pass: “Resolved, that the taxation of the people by themselves or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them … is the distinguishing characteristic of British freedom.” Other representatives accused Henry of treason for his violent objection to the tax, to which, though many historians doubt the veracity, Henry supposedly responded with, “If this be treason, make the most of it.”
Not all opponents of the tax were as mannered as Henry. Throughout the colonies, and in Boston in particular, acts of mob violence appeared, directed at tax collectors and those seen to be in collusion with them. Public figures were burned or hung in effigy. In his book “The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America,” historian Gary B. Nash wrote:
“(In August 1765) it was Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson's turn. After attacking the handsome houses of the deputy register of the vice admiralty court and the comptroller of Customs, a crowd of men in workday garb descended on Hutchinson's mansion. Catching the lieutenant governor at dinner with his family, the crowd smashed in the doors with axes and sent the Hutchinsons packing.”
The mob proceeded to destroy and steal Hutchinson's possessions. Boston was not alone in the violence, however. In his book “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” historian Gordon S. Wood noted the tense, almost comical experience between Charleston merchant-planter Henry Laurens and a South Carolina mob:
“Perceiving that the mob, disguised in blackened faces, sailors' clothes, and slouch hats, was about to force an entrance to his house in search of stamped paper, Laurens let the rioters in. Although held with a brace of cutlasses against his chest, Laurens called out the names of members of the mob — 'to their great suprize' — and forced them by sheer familiarity to back down in their threats. The crowd eventually ended up praising Laurens.”
In October, delegates from all over the colonies met in New York for a Stamp Act Congress, in which the 27 representatives formally stated their objection to the tax, noting that as they had no political voice in Parliament, Parliament had no right to tax them directly. The congress produced a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances,” which they sent to London.
In December, Massachusetts patriot John Adams wrote in his diary, “The year 1765 has been the most remarkable year of my life. The enormous engine fabricated by the British Parliament for battering down all the rights and liberties of America, I mean the Stamp Act, has raised and spread throughout the whole continent a spirit that will be recorded to our honor, with all future generations.”
In London, members of Parliament were infuriated at the American rejection of the tax and obstructionism. King George III sacked Grenville for his failure with the Stamp Act, and asked Lord Rockingham to form a government in July 1765. By the end of the year, British merchants were feeling the heat as more and more Americans refused to do business with them. Members of Parliament sympathetic to the colonial position organized these merchants to put pressure on Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. By March 1766, the perfect storm of violent American rejection, pressure from British business interests and political uncertainty at home led Parliament to repeal the hated tax.
Even as it repealed the tax, however, Parliament moved to assert its authority. March 18, 1766, saw not only the repeal of the Stamp Act but also the passage of the Declaratory Act. This new measure stated, in part, “That the said colonies and plantations in America have been, are, and of right ought to be, subordinate unto, and dependent upon the imperial crown and parliament of Great Britain; and that the King's majesty … had, has, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes … to bind the colonies and people of America, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever.”
Though Parliament acknowledged that it was backing down on this one issue, it still had full authority over the American colonies, and this was something that the colonists needed to accept. Parliament was stating that it would not back down again. When news arrived of the Stamp Act's repeal in May, it was met with celebration throughout the colonies.
Nash wrote: “Although the crisis passed, nothing was solved. Many Americans could not suppress the notion that a greedy mother country had trampled on her subjects' rights and would continue to do so. … Scribbled John Adams in his diary: 'The people have become more attentive to their liberties … and more determined to defend them. … Our presses have groaned, our pulpits have thundered, our legislatures have resolved, our towns have voted ….”
Only nine years later, the American Revolution began.
Cody K. Carlson holds a master's degree in history from the University of Utah and currently teaches at SLCC. He has also appeared on many local stages, including Hale Centre Theatre and Off Broadway Theatre. Email: ckcarlson76@gmail.com