The Stamp Act Crisis That Led To The American Revolution

The Stamp act crisis is considered by many to be the catalyst for the series of events that led to the American Revolution. It affected everyone in the colonies, from the very rich to the very poor. It made anything from marriages to wills more difficult and expensive to obtain, and it created controversy about who should have the right to enact taxes on the American colonies. There were of course some who supported the tax, but their argument was based on the fact that most of the people under the English government didn’t have the right to vote, not based on whether that was just. Those that opposed the tax argued that the colonies aren’t actually virtually represented, because no members of parliament came from the colonies. Ben Franklin

If the members of parliament voted for a tax, they were also going to be affected by the tax. This made those virtually represented in England much more content with their lack of voting power. The American colonies on the other hand were not virtually represented. There were not any members of parliament that would be affected by the actions of parliament on the colonies. They could enact as many taxes as they wanted because they would never have to pay them. Dulaney argued that because the colonists were not even virtually represented in Parliament, Parliament had no right to tax the colonies. The colonies had their own governments, and they believed that they had the power to tax themselves and send what England needed back if they voted to do so. Of course, England and parliament disagreed with this argument, and even after repealing the stamp act, they asserted their right to tax the colonies however they wanted, as they demonstrated in the Townshend

Franklin very cleverly argued the colonists' position and asserted that colonists would not even submit to the tax if it was lessened. The colonists believed that they had already paid their portion of the war expenses, and they shouldn't be expected to pay for even more of England’s expenses. Ben Franklin also informed Parliament of the colonies changing temper toward Great Britain. Before 1763 the colonists held Great Britain in the highest regard and considered themselves fully Englishmen, with the only distinction being where they lived. Post 1763, the colonists started to realize that they were not treated the same as the English in the British Isles, and they wanted more representation if Britain wanted to continue to Tax them. They wanted a return to salutary neglect that allowed the colonies to prosper for so long, and they feared they would run out of silver and gold to pay the tax in just one year. Ben Franklin also made the risky assertion that the colonies would only submit to the Stamp Tax if England sent troops to enforce it. Parliament did not like this statement because it made them seem like they did not have the power to enforce it if they chose not to, but all the same, they repealed the act soon after Ben Franklin’s