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Definitions Of Benjamin Franklin And The Stamp Act

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1) In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which was the first internal tax on the colonists, At the time, Benjamin Franklin was a colonial agent in London. As colonial opposition to the Stamp Act grew, Franklin found himself representing these views to the British government. Franklin made a testimony against the Stamp Act describing the role of taxes in Pennsylvania and the economic relationship between the colonies and England (94). According to Franklin colonists were paying many, heavy taxes. They were paying taxes for estates, polls, offices, professions, trades, and businesses depending on their income. Along with that the colonists were taxed on wine, rum, other spirit, and slaves. When asked if everyone can pay these taxes, Franklin said no. He said "The frontier countries along the continent, have been frequently ravaged by the enemy and greatly impoverished, are able to pay very little tax..." (94). This is one clue that Franklin gave as to why the tax will lead to a massive colonial outrage, …show more content…

Franklin responded that the Americans would think the resolutions were unlawful and biased. Just as Franklin predicted, there was an outrage among the colonials. Many different protests were held against the Stamp Act. One act of protest was when James Otis in Massachusetts coaxed his fellow members of the colonial assembly to call an intercolonial congress to take action against the new tax. They called themselves the Stamp Congress and in October 1765 they meet in New York with delegates from nine colonies to make a petition stating that the colonies could not rightfully be taxed except through "their own provincial

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The Stamp Act, which was issued in 1765, taxed all paper documents in the colonies. The Stamp Act was the first Act that was directed towards the colonies alone and was issued because they had an abundance of debt after the Seven Years War. You had to pay taxes for printing legal documents, diplomas, almanacs, broadsides, newspapers, and playing cards. In October nine of the colonies sent someone to the Stamp Act Congress where the colonies drafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances which was a document that went against the British empire. The colonists also rebelled by not selling any British products.

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On March 22, 1765, Parliament decreed, under the careful eye of Grenville (the same Grenville as mentioned above), the stamp act with a vote of 205 to 49 in the House of Commons, and unanimously in the House of Lords. Grenville, in early 1764, disclosed that in addition to the Sugar Act, a stamp tax might also be needed for legal documents and other publications. The colonies scrambled as they wrote petitions and sent them to London along with Benjamin Franklin and others . However, Parliament refused to accept them. The colonies were

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The Stamp Act Placed a tax on almost all printed material in the colonies in 1765. Patrick Henry - a young member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Had persuaded the burgesses to take action against the Stamp Act.

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The American Revolutionary War was a war fought from 1775-1783, also known as the American War of Independence, between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen colonies. The colonies wanted independence and free from British rule. In order to gain their independence the colonies had to fight for it.

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The Stamp act was put into place on October 19, 1765. the purpose of the Stamp act was to help pay for troops that had been stationed in the Americas after their victory in the Seven years war. The reason behind why this tax was so harsh on the colonists was, because it taxed every thing on paper including their documents and books. This of course angered many of the colonists because they simply couldn't afford it. Benjamin Franklin states in the “Testimony Against the Stamp Act,”1766 that “just as they do this.

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This surprised the British government. The colonists even threatened tax collects forcing them to quit their jobs or to even leave the colonies. Protests spread into the streets and groups like the Sons of Liberty encouraged the colonists to boycott British products. These boycotts soon hurt British businesses in the colonies. The British government was forced to repeal the Stamp Act.

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Imports of lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea were taxed; the British government wanted the colonists to pay so they created punishments for colonists who

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The Stamp Act Congress and Riots was the first crowd to protest against the Stamp Act. The Committees of Correspondence, led by James Otis, was against Britain's harsh implements. The Quartering Acts forced colonists to house British soldiers. The Coercive Acts took place in 1773, and they were put into action because of the Boston Tea

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While Franklin was home in England for taxes ,on his family he had taken part with discussions regarding the British taxing rates at the time. As a result of all the British expenditures, they saw fit to tax more from the colonists since they were the main

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Wealthy colonial families, mostly reacted writing angry letters or threatening anonymous letters to the British. Colonist is insulting their majesty. Families saying the Stamp Act was unfair and unconstitutional. People who were protesting made a new secret organization the Sons of Liberty. New secret organizations often turned violent and massacres became involved.

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To be fair to the colonies, the money that was collected would stay in America, and Americans would be selected stamp agents. However, this small token of hospitality from Parliament did little to cool the growing indignation of the colonists who felt that this act was invading their rights as British subjects. The British Constitution bestowed Englishmen the right of being taxed only by representatives of their own choosing. The colonists had no such representatives in Parliament; therefore they couldn't deny the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act was illegitimate. With this act, the colonists' fury and sullen feelings reached the boiling point.

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In 1765 March 22, The Stamp Act began. It was when American colonists were taxed on any kind of paper product. Such as ship’s paper, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. All of the money that was taxed was used to pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachians Mountains. Although this act was unpopular among the colonists.

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Arguably, these taxes were only placed by Britain to “milk” the colonies for profit. Ben Franklin responded to the Stamp Act, writing a letter to John Hughs to discuss efforts to get it repealed (Document G). . In a way, the series of taxes applied by Parliament would spark a fire within the colonists and begin the American Revolution, where Americans finally say enough is enough. The time had come for political and ideological change, where the colonies would break from their motherland, Great Britain. In conclusion, the French Indian War would kick off a series of political, economic, and ideological events that changed the relationship between Britain and its colonies forever.

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The Founding Fathers rebelled against the British government for good reasons, which led to the American Revolution in 1783. The Founding Fathers were justified in rebelling against the Britain because the government was not protecting the rights of the citizens, taxing the colonists, and forced them to house British soldiers. In 1756 Britain put the first tax on the colonists. This was the Stamp Act, it required colonists to pay taxes on certain items such as newspapers, legal documents, licenses, and even playing cards.

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