The Stamp Act

Stamp Act, act introduced by the British prime minister George Grenville and passed by the British Parliament in 1765 as a means of raising revenue in the American colonies. The Stamp Act required all legal documents, licenses, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards to carry a tax stamp. The act extended to the colonies the system of stamp duties then employed in Great Britain and was intended to raise money to defray the cost of …

…Great Britain, which was exploiting them, and that every consideration of common sense called for the colonies to become independent and establish a republican government of their own. The document went on to criticize the monarchy as an institution. Published anonymously, the pamphlet sold more than 500,000 copies and helped encourage, with comments such as “The birthday of a new world is at hand,” the issuance of the Declaration of Independence six months later ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**