of 1765 was the first direct tax placed on the goods being imported into the American Colonies. Just like the Sugar Act, the British Parliament enacted it to raise large amounts of revenue. The original Stamp Act document states, “…It taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards”. Once this was in place the colonists became extremely angered because the act increased the price of all the items listed above. The Americans decided that it was necessary to organize protests throughout the thirteen colonies. Underground networks emerged such as the Sons of Liberty. These groups decided that a way of trying to get this act repealed was to take up protesting, which would keep the agents from enforcing the Stamp Act and boycotting British goods. Throughout America the colonies started passing resolutions against the Stamp Act so that they could show the British Parliament that it did not have local government support. In the resolutions drawn up by Virginia the leaders stated that they felt it was “illegal, unconstitutional, and unjust” (King, Peter. Virginia Stamp Act) to tax them without their explicit consent. The American colonists saw this form of taxation to be very dangerous because they saw it ultimately destroying their successful economy that they had built up since the colonization of North America. It was even stated that the taxation was “unreasonable and inconsistent with principles and spirit of the British constitution” (Dickinson, John. Letters from a farmer IV). The American people did not like the idea that someone who did not even live in America could tax them. They had the tax forced upon them because Britain did not like the idea that the American economy was generating so much wealth and prosperity. So they felt the best way to collect revenue from the American economy was to tax the goods heavily. The American coloni...
