The stamp act crisis is a listed on the syllabus by david hackett fischer. Online seminar selected readings from prologue to revolution. Conventional documentaries of the period assume a gradual exasperation with british policy, one that builds from slow objection and reluctant protest to outrage and, only. The stamp act, the first direct tax on the american colonies, provoked an immediate and violent.
The stamp act crisis university of north carolina press. Patrick henry offered several anti stamp act resolutions in the house of burgesses in virginia, most of which were passed. One of the most tantalizing problems of this period is the question of what exactly happened there. Prologue to revolution sources and documents on the stamp act. Eleven years before the declaration of independence, a crisis took place that defined the issue that would help provoke the american revolution. New york assembly, petition to the house of commons, october 18, 1764. The stamp act was widely opposed by the colonial population resulting in organized protests that allowed the revolution movement to gain tactical experience and set a pattern of resistance that led to the american independence. Prologue to revolution published by the omohundro institute of early american history and culture and the university of north carolina press kindle edition by edmund s. The stamp act crisis, originally published by unc press in 1953, identifies the issues that caused the confrontation and explores the ways in. The authors have given us a searching account of the crisis and provided some memorable portraits of.
Briefly, the grenville administration sought to affirm the authority of parliament to tax the colonists through the duties on documents, while americans challenged. The first direct tax to be levied on the american colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other papers. The authors other book the prologue to a revolution. The stamp act revolt demonstrated the two revolutions we have been talking about in class. Allison of suffolk university discusses the overall significance of the stamp act crisis, how it affected all classes of people in different ways, and how it has been viewed in. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Stamp act crisis article about stamp act crisis by the free. Britain backed down this time, as it would during the crisis that followed the towshend acts, but the stamp act revolt was really the beginning of the independence movement. The issues raised by the stamp act festered for 10 years before giving rise to. According to some estimates, if these two groups were subtracted from the population of massachusetts, there would be scarcely anyone left. After some debate it was felt that a tax levied in the form of a revenue stamp upon necessary papers would be at once easy to collect and hard to evade. Improve your students reading comprehension with readworks.
List of books and articles about stamp act of 1765 online. The crisis generated by the stamp act was the lighting of the fuse of the american revolution. Sources and documents on the stamp act crisis, 17641766. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the stamp act crisis. Quotations the stamp act crisis american revolution. Sources and documents on the stamp act crisis, 1764 1766. In 1953 edmund and helen morgan published the last thorough study devoted to the stamp act cri. In every colony there appeared a group who designated themselves as the sons of liberty, and in every colony, the sons of liberty, if they were not composed of prominent and well to do citizens, at least had their backing. Delegates from nine colonies meet in new york city in what has become. In october, nine colonies sent representatives to new york to fashion a petition for redress to the kingthe stamp act congress. Prologue to revolution published by the omohundro institute of early american history and culture and the university of north carolina press morgan, edmund s.
Jul 29, 2014 one option which grenville felt would be acceptable by the colonies was a stamp tax. Aug 07, 20 ed morgan changed the way historians understood the american revolution. Stamp act, 1765, revenue law passed by the british parliament during the ministry of george grenville. The stamp act crisis is a reader of nearly all the primary sources concerned with the stamp act of 1765 in the american colonies. Important dates in the stamp act crisis march 22, 1765. In 1765, british parliament passed the stamp act to raise revenues by taxing american colonists. Jul 30, 2015 it received the kings assent on april 22, 1765 and was to go into effect on november 1 of that year, by which time it was utterly unenforceable in the colonies. The americans drew a distinction between an internal tax on the colonists the stamp act and an external tax on the trade of the colonies. The first direct tax to be levied on the american colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other papers issued in the colonies bear a stamp. Political science quarterlythe stamp act, the first direct tax on the american colonies, provoked an immediate and violent response. Over a period of about ten years, from 1948 to 1957, he published three important research articles, a monograph, an essay aimed at a general audience, and a historiographical article, all having to do with the coming of the revolution. Early american the stamp act crisis ishare prologue to revolution. Virginia declared that it would not pay taxes which had not been approved by its. The morgans argued for the importance of principled, constitutional opposition to the stamp act, culminating in the rational declarations of a congress made up of a representative crosssection of colonists.
Learning objective c, wor theme in 1765, british parliament passed the stamp act to raise revenues by taxing american colonists. The most virulent of the colonial reactions were the seven stamp act resolves introduced by patrick henry in the virginia house of burgesses on may 29, 1765. A change of parliamentary leadership soon after passage of the stamp act and the growing concern of british merchants about the disruption of colonial trade caused by the act led to renewed debates in parliament. The stamp act crisis the passage of the stamp act was met with widespread resistance in the colonies. During the stamp act crisis americans argued that there was a difference between taxing them for revenue and taxing them for the regulation of trade. This compilation, one of a series in this theme crisis, reflects an often underemphasized aspect of the revolutionary period, pointed out by literary historian robert ferguson. Morgan in his useful collection of documents, prologue to revolutionsources and documents on the stamp act crisis, 17641766 chapel hill, 1959, 109.
The relation of the american revolutions stamp act crisis to. It represented the first moment of crisis between the colonies and great britain. Quotations stamp act crisis this page contains a collection of american revolution quotations from revolutionary leaders, contemporary figures and prominent historians, pertaining to the stamp act crisis. There was a rich meadow, surrounded on three sides by a winding river, and shady lanes which. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. British politics and the american revolution albion. Stamp act crisis, 17651766, repeal of stamp act, american. The stamp act crisis, originally published by unc press in 1953, identifies the issues that caused the confrontation and explores the ways in which the conflict was a prelude to the american revolution.
The stamp act and the political origins of american legal and. Access thousands of highquality, free k12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students. I am using it as a resource for my website patriotsandredcoats. The stamp act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on american colonists by the british parliament.