A Colonial Family’s Reaction to the Stamp Act
It was a busy afternoon and the sound of horses stomping and people shouting rang through my ears. Then came the heavy footsteps of Father entering the house. We were a middle class family that lived in a single story house. Our house was small and we had a little farm to raise animals. My brother John and I were silent in the dusty parlor waiting to hear his cheerful voice echo throughout the house. But none came. There was whispering. Finally, we heard Mother say, “We should go and tell them.” We heard them coming towards the parlor, down the narrow hall and past our bedrooms. I suddenly became anxious wondering what news they had to tell us, not realizing that today was going to start the beginning, of what led to the American Revolution. They entered through the door and stood silhouetted against the red brick chimney. There was a fire burning and it shot rays of light making the shabby furniture seem more inviting. The cream colored wall paper blended in with the crimson threadbare chairs, one of which I was sitting on.
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We just found out that the British is going to put a tax on all paper documents, including deeds, newspapers, wills and pamphlets. It’s called the Stamp Act. On every paper document it will have a stamp. You have to pay for the document and the stamp.”
“Dad, I don’t understand how this will affect us because we’re farmers, we don’t buy a lot of documents,” I