The Pros And Cons Of The Stamp Act

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It all started in the year 1754 when George Washington’s whistling bullets were shot. These bullets were aimed at a French scouting party stationed at Fort Duquesne. General Washington ordered his men to open fire and started a conflict known as the French and Indian War. The British and French, wrestled for territory and power. However, the French troops had an advantage. The French had not taken after the Spaniards when it came to the American Indians. The Spaniards turned them into slaves, while the French allied with them. After the French protected the Huron tribes from the Iroquois in the 1640’s, the Huron and the French became business partners. Then in 1754, the French needed help and the American Indians came rushing to their side. …show more content…

In February 1765, Parliament enacted the Stamp Act, an act forcing colonists to pay for every piece of paper they purchased. This included legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards, and other paper products. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax to be imposed upon the American colonies. The King needed to pay off his 130 million pound debt from the French and Indian War, so he decided to tax the colonists without their consent. The people of Great Britain were already being taxed heavily, while the colonists had the lightest taxes of the entire British Empire. After the King’s first failed attempt at separating the colonists and American Indians during the Proclamation of 1763, he needed money to pay for the 7,500 soldiers he put on their new territory to keep peace between the colonists and the American Indians. Word of the new act reached the colonists in April 1765 and the protests continued throughout the year. Despite the colonists’ protests, the Stamp Act was approved on March 22, 1765. Then on November 1, 1765 the Stamp Act took effect. Patriot mobs called The Sons of Liberty, attacked stamp distributor Andrew Oliver’s house in protest. The idea of the higher taxes didn’t upset the colonists because they were willing to pay taxes passed by their own assemblies. The thing that upset them was, they had no representatives in Parliament so