Describe the American response to the Stamp Act and explain why the colonists reacted as they did?

     The Stamp Act was created as a tax on paper goods, for example: all government papers, such as marriage licenses, writing paper and playing cards, etc. and one was already established in England at the time. People would buy the paper that they needed as normal, but they would then pay a tax on it before printing whatever it was they needed, and depending on the type of paper bought determined the amount of tax paid. The idea was that the money would be kept in America to help pay for the troops currently stationed here, and it was felt that this would be better received by the colonists.

     Unfortunately for them the colonists saw this as a threat to their rights and liberty, and that now Britain was using their money to pay for a military establishment. By taxing the colonists directly it bypassed their colonial assemblies and was considered to be taking property against their wills. This would also be called taxation without representation, which just seemed like another way to make the colonies more subordinate to Britain. Stunning to everyone was that the colonists actually resisted the Stamp Act. They began boycotting British goods until the act was repealed, including not buying stamps for letters that they could have delivered another way. Thousands of people were involved in the protests and the merchants and printers who were most effected by the boycotting started voicing opposition immediately.

      The group called the Sons of Liberty was born out of the oppositional movement to the Stamp Act. These workers and tradesmen felt the Act directly threatened their political rights. There were members throughout all the colonies who worked to organize the colonists against the Act by setting up boycotts, protests, and a means of communication between all the colonies oppositionists. Some of the protests got violent, which was unexpected, and so the colonial assemblies finally agreed that all their rights are being threatened and came together in cooperation for the Stamp Act Congress. They draw up a set of resolves and petitions to the King requesting repeal of the Stamp Act by Parliament. Much of this opposition can be traced back to the Radical Whigs of England who started the movement against the corruption of government. 

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