Why did the Stamp Act so antagonize the American colonists?

Question

I understand WHAT the Stamp Act did, as far as what it taxed. I also understand WHY the Brits instituted the Stamp Act (to get money for British troops in America). What I want to know is other than the fact the Stamp Act was money out of colonial's pockets-- why did it make them so angry?
I am leaning toward the fact that is was an Act passed after other acts (the Sugar Act and Quartering Act) had already undermined the pseudo-independence that the Americans believed they had. I guess I am looking for the reason of the collective breaking point. Why after so many other actions by Parliament, did the Stamp Act create such a riotous response?

Answer 1

Well, it was a tax on everyday paper products! Books, stamps, newspapers, anything paper was taxed! Match this with the sugar act and you have to pay a tax for petty little things. The colonists did not want to have to pay taxes to the british if it wasn't even going to benefit the American colonists!

Answer 2

I am afraid the above answers have missed the point. Tax without representation was a phony issue. The vast majority of Brits in England did not have representation, full democracy did not exist there either.

The issue in Stamp Act was that it fell most heavily on the American Leadership, lawyers, business people and others that used lots of paper work. Most colonials could not have cared less about the Stamp Act, but the leaders who made the decisions did. So it was not a democratic vote but a vote by the elite for their own interests.

Answer 3

They have been angered because of the fact... The Colonists have been angered via the Stamp Act because of the fact they did no longer prefer to pay extra taxes for different stamps. on a similar time as great Britain nonetheless mandatory to pay off the the remainder of the debt for the French and Indian conflict (Seven Years conflict) the Colonists had their very own issues and had to be an self sustaining u . s ., they had to fend for themselves, no longer pay a tax, besides, the British additionally stamped enjoying cards, and there wasn't something to do decrease back then besides paintings and play enjoying cards, so would not you be mad if your new set of enjoying cards had a substantial stamp on the Queen of Hearts? Lol

Answer 4

because it placed taxes on basically every written document (newspapers, etc) so of course, the colonists got even more pissed off because they were being taxed without any representation in parliament and they were reading enlightenment essays and getting too smart.

Answer 5

because they wanted money. but didnt provided any services in exchange for the tax.My great great greats didnt like that.I have some family papers from that time and they didnt wish to do it and refused to .till someone went to jail, then they paid only if they had to.later came war as you know.God bless America.

Answer 6

they were annoyed because it iomposed furher taxes on them on top of the other taxes this was also because the british felt that they should help repay teh debt from teh 7 years war,fought on theitr behgalf

Answer 7

The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III, c. 12) was the fourth Stamp Act to be passed by the Parliament of Great Britain and required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. The Act was enacted in order to defray the cost of maintaining the military presence protecting the colonies. Britain also needed money to repay the suppliers from the French and Indian War, which had been very costly, even though Great Britain had been victorious in 1763 (see Treaty of Paris (1763)).

The Act passed unanimously on March 22, 1765, and went into effect later that year, on November 1. It met with great resistance in the colonies and was never effectively enforced. Colonists threatened tax collectors with tarring and feathering. Few collectors were willing to risk their well-being to uphold the tax. The Act was repealed on March 18, 1766. This incident increased the colonists' concerns about the intent of the British Parliament and added fuel to the growing separatist movement that later resulted in the American Revolution.

The American colonists did not believe their representation in the British parliament was equitable. To be admitted to the bar or enrolled as a notary, one would pay a tax of £10 in North America, but only £2 in Great Britain. The tax was also hard on lawyers and those who worked in the courts. They had to print papers very often, so paying taxes on their paper soon became very tedious and expensive, depending on how many documents needed stamps. Another reason the colonists were not so accepting of the tax was because it was the first tax used to raise money for England. The other taxes imposed on the Colonists were mostly used for maintaining the trading and commerce system.

Fort Detroit and Fort Pitt needed garrisons, which were provided by money from the Stamp Act. But the main purpose of these forts was to protect the fur trade, not settlers. Indeed, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 had limited western settlement. For seventy years, the European Wars had carried over to North America. The French, Spanish, and Dutch had, at various times, attacked coastal properties and towns, which had been only protected by colonial militia, not the regular army. The militia had even been assigned to support actions in Canada and the west, with limited compensation from the Crown.

Stamps were generally ignored, and were often unavailable. Many times the Colonists would boycott the stamps and simply not buy them. Protest and discussion over these acts gave way to open violence in a number of instances. In Boston, an effigy of the stamp agent, Andrew Oliver, was hanged and then burned. His home was broken into, and his office, along with the stamps, was burned. The mob even went on to vandalize the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, destroying records and forcing him and his family to seek refuge at Fort William. (The elm tree used to hang Oliver's effigy later became known as the "Liberty Tree".) Organizations of protest sprang up throughout the colonies, later becoming known as the Sons of Liberty. Oliver resigned as stamp agent, and no one could be found to take the job.

Similar events occurred in other colonies, particularly in New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. Stamps were seized and destroyed, and stamp agents were harassed. Committees of Correspondence sprang up to unite in opposition. There was a general boycott of British merchandise that spread through all the colonies. When Massachusetts asked for a general meeting, nine colonies sent representatives to a Stamp Act Congress held at Federal Hall in New York in October of 1765.


Stamp Act Congress

The first Stamp Act Congress was held in New York in October 1765. Delegates from the American Colonies adopted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances and wrote letters or petitions to the King and both houses of Parliament. This Congress is viewed by some as the first American action in or as a precursor of the American Revolution.

A Declaration of Rights adopted by the Congress raised fourteen points of colonial protest. In addition to the specifics of the Stamp Act taxes, it asserted that colonists possessed all the rights of Englishmen and that without voting rights, Parliaments could not represent the colonists; only the colonial assemblies had a right to tax the colonies; that trial by jury was a right, and the recent use of Admiralty Courts was abusive.

The Stamp Act Congress can be seen in many places as an opening move in the American Revolution. Nine colonies were represented by 27 delegates, determined to draw up a petition of rights and grievances, which would then be presented to Parliament. The actual petition, called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, was drawn up by delegate John Dickinson of the Province of Pennsylvania.

Its wording has ominous significance. The basic argument was that the colonists owed the same allegiance to George III of Great Britain and Parliament as all Britons, and, in the words of the Petition, they were also "entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of [the King's] natural born subjects." The Petition also declared that "no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed upon them, but by their respective legislatures" and that it was "unreasonable and inconsistent, for the people of Great Britain to grant to His Majesty the property of the colonists." The petition asserted that the extension of Admiralty courts to prosecute violators of the Act undermined "the rights and liberties" of the colonists.

The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was duly sent to the king, and petitions were also sent to both Houses of Parliament. Faced with an inability to enforce the act, Parliament repealed it in the spring. Pressure from British manufacturers and merchants over the boycott had more influence than the petitions. Parliament, in enacting the repeal said: "...whereas the continuance of the said act would be attended with many inconveniences, and may be productive of consequences greatly detrimental to the commercial interests of these kingdoms..."