Colonial Reaction to the Stamp Act

Introduction

The word colonialism refers to an extremely wide range of phenomena that are not always easy to compare, much less combine, under the same concept. As a product of the past centuries of European expansion, colonialism is commonly associated with empire building, especially in the nineteenth century. In the most general sense, it involves the establishment of colonial rule, a political structure in which one state controls another state or territory by forming a governing organization that is either a literal extension or a more indirect representative of the colonizing state.

American settlers lived in a world completely unlike our own. They faced hardships nearly incompatible to a person in modern times. The settlers, however, gained strength enough to scrape by with no luxuries at all. As colonies, they were under the influence of the British government. When England interfered with their trade and industry, they had to do something in order to keep financial stability.(Draper, 16) When Britain demanded taxes that were extremely unjust, the colonists had to do something. England sent troops to compel obedience. This merely served to anger the settlers even more than before. Faced with this quick succession of uncalled actions, the Americans were forced to retaliate. They fought at first, only for their rights which had been cruelly ripped away. After a year of fighting they decided to completely break away from England in their first revolutionary war. There were many events and injustices that led up to the American Revolution although no one single incident may be cited as making the war inevitable.(Findling, 77)

In 1764 England imposed upon the colonies the Currency Act. This act prohibited the colonists from issuing any legal paper money. This threatened to weaken the entire economy of the North.(Keesing, 21) In addition it represented the same problem towards agriculture in the South as it did in the North. When the colonists united against this act, it should not have come as a surprise to the British government.

Discussion

In 1764, many merchants in Boston decided to boycott any tax on British luxury items. This occurred when James Otis raised the issue of taxation at a town meeting. In July of 1765 the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization, was formed in many towns.(Draper, 16) This group used violence and fear as its primary weapon to force many merchants from ordering English goods.

The Tea Act took effect in 1773. It stated that a three penny per pound import tax on tea will stay in effect. The act promised to save the East India Company from ruin and insure its future profitability. The company was allowed to sell directly to colonial agents without any interruptions by the middle class mans. This cut costs for them dramatically.(Findling, 77) They sold the tea for less than the colonial merchants could possibly afford. The tax on the tea, however, was expressly designed to raise more money. The merchants lost a huge amount of money from this Act and were understandably angry at ...