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Benjamin Franklin's Arguments Against The Stamp Act

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Benjamin Franklin, a very wise publisher from Philadelphia, has recently been testifying against the stamp act and promoting the idea of American liberties. For those who are not aware, the Stamp Act consisted of the British taxing goods made in the colonies and the colonists must pay tax on every piece of printed papers that they used , toward the English. Currently people are rebelling toward this taxation and we believe that we should only be taxed by our own representatives just as the English people are. We Americans are paying very heavy taxes toward the British government and the heavy taxation on us must come to an end. Today in the colonies, we currently pay taxes on all estates, a tax on all offices, trades and businesses, and 10 pounds for every slave that gets imported to the colonies. …show more content…

He continues to say that, “there is not gold and silver enough in the colonies to pay the stamp duty for one year”. Benjamin Franklin brings up very good points through these statements. Great Britain is currently millions of dollars in debt due to the French and Indian war. The colonies do not deserve to be taxed to pay off the debt of the British. The debt of the British should be paid off only by the people of Great Britain because it is their responsibility. The colonies are currently paying a large amount of money in taxes for the resources of themselves. Not only are the people unable to afford it, but the people are not used to paying so much of their hard earned money on taxes. The Stamp Act is the first direct tax that the colonists have

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The Stamp Act was a law that demanded all colonial residents to pay a stamp tax on effectively every printed paper including legal documents, bills of sale, contracts, wills, advertising, pamphlets, almanacs, and even playing cards and dice. The tax affected every resident mainly lawyers who were increasingly in a place of power. The act was passed in May and was planned to take effect November 1st, 1765. A great deal of colonists thought the tax was unfair and had almost a year to show their dissatisfaction through peaceful and violent protests.

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