Stamp Act
Paper tax law
The Stamp Act was a 1765 British law requiring American colonists to pay a tax on printed materials—newspapers, legal documents, playing cards—evidenced by an embossed stamp.
Colonial outrage over taxation without representation helped spark the American Revolution.
The act was repealed in 1766 but remains a touchstone for discussions of unjust taxation.
- taxationCompulsory government revenue collection
- coloniesTerritories under foreign control
- colonial AmericaBritish North Atlantic settlements, pre-1776
- British ParliamentUK's national legislature
- rebellionDefiance of established power
protest · repeal · British · revolution · boycott · tea · tea party · Boston · tyranny · representation · grievance · independence · Sons of Liberty · tariff · tax collector · customs · smuggling · parchment
- American HistoryAmerican Revolution, Revolutionary War, colonial era, founding fathers, Declaration of Independence
- American RevolutionDeclaration of Independence, Boston Tea Party, Continental Congress, founding fathers, Sons of Liberty
- taxessales tax, income tax, estate tax, excise tax, corporate tax
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, William III
- historical recordsdiary, census record, annual reviews, letter, government records
- taxationtax, income tax, sales tax, tax return, tax refund
Stamp Acttax exemption
Freedom from governmental levies
Declaration of Independence · free trade · no taxation without representation · home rule · American independence
Stamp ActDeclaration of Independence
America's founding proclamation
consent of the governed · representative democracy · town meeting · Continental Congress · popular sovereignty
Stamp ActNavigation Acts
British laws regulating colonial commerce
Sugar Act · Tea Act · trade tariff · import duty · customs duty
stamp, act, stamps, stamped, stamping, stamper, acts, acted, acting