Parliament was in charge of taxation, and although it was a representative body, the colonies did not have “actual” (or direct) representation in it. According to the unwritten British Constitution, only representatives for whom British subjects voted could tax them. As a direct tax, it appeared to be an unconstitutional measure, one that deprived freeborn British subjects of their liberty, a concept they defined broadly to include various rights and privileges they enjoyed as British subjects, including the right to representation. When fifteen hundred troops arrived in New York in 1766, the New York Assembly refused to follow the Quartering Act.ĬOLONIAL PROTEST: GENTRY, MERCHANTS, AND THE STAMP ACT CONGRESSįor many British colonists living in America, the Stamp Act raised many concerns. Widespread evasion and disregard for the law occurred in almost all the colonies, but the issue was especially contentious in New York, the headquarters of British forces. Since the time of James II, who ruled from 1685 to 1688, many British subjects had mistrusted the presence of a standing army during peacetime, and having to pay for the soldiers’ lodging and food was especially burdensome. In addition, the costs of the troops’ food and lodging fell to the colonists. It required that they be provided with barracks or places to stay in public houses, and that if extra housing were necessary, then troops could be stationed in barns and other uninhabited private buildings. The Quartering Act of 1765 addressed the problem of housing British soldiers stationed in the American colonies. Parliament also asserted its prerogative in 1765 with the Quartering Act. Protests against British imperial policy took many forms, such as this mock stamp (b) whose text reads “An Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP. The announcement of the Stamp Act, seen in this newspaper publication (a), raised numerous concerns among colonists in America. ![]() Because the Stamp Act raised constitutional issues, it triggered the first serious protest against British imperial policy. The passage of the Stamp Act meant that starting on November 1, 1765, the colonists would contribute £60,000 per year-17 percent of the total cost-to the upkeep of the ten thousand British soldiers in North America ( ). This was a time-honored liberty of representative legislatures of the colonial governments. Before the Stamp Act, the colonists had paid taxes to their colonial governments or indirectly through higher prices, not directly to the Crown’s appointed governors. The Stamp Act signaled a shift in British policy after the French and Indian War. ![]() (credit a: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government credit b: modification of work by the United Kingdom Government) ![]() Image (b) provides a close-up of a one-penny stamp. Image (a) shows a partial proof sheet of one-penny stamps. Under the Stamp Act, anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it.
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