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The Sugar Act of 1764 Facts, Details, Definition, Effects

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Also Known As: The Sugar Act is also called the American Act of 1764, the American Revenue Act, and the Plantation Act. Date Introduced: On March 9, 1764, the provisions of the Sugar Act were introduced to the House of Commons. Introduced By: Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury George Grenville proposed the Sugar Act.

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The Sugar Act Song: ANIMATED  Video (Parody of "Sugar" by Maroon 5)

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The definition and purpose of the 1765 Stamp Act and the cry of "No taxation without representation!"

Definition of the Stamp Act
The Meaning and Definition of the Stamp Act: The Stamp Act of 1765 was a British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain during the reign of King George III during the ministry of George Grenville (Lord Grenville).

The Stamp Act was passed on February 17, approved by the House of Lords on March 8th, and received Royal Assent on 22 March 1765. The Stamp Act took effect on November 1, 1765.

It was designed to raise revenue from the American Colonies by a duty (tax) in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.

The Stamp Act was first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies. It was the first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the 13 colonies. For fast facts refer to the article on the Facts about the Stamp Tax.

Images of Stamp Act Stamps - One Penny Stamp

What was the Stamp Act?
The Stamp Act required various items such as licenses, documents, diplomas and nearly every paper item to be printed on stamped or embossed paper in the American colonies. This meant that the American colonists were obliged to pay a fee on almost every piece of paper used for legal documents. The colonists were obliged to pay extra for things that were used on a daily basis, such as newspapers. Basically anything printed on paper, except books, was taxed. The people who created public documents had to pay a tax on blank paper and then officials would place a stamp as proof of payment. The British Parliament granted colonists the right to select American tax collectors for the job. The people who were most effected by the Stamp Act were lawyers, ministers, printers and merchants. These colonists were men of wealth and standing in the community and some of the most influential people in society.

Stamp Act Documents

Legal Documents

Certificates (including Marriage)

Newspapers

Diplomas

Publications in Foreign Tongues

Stamp Act Documents

All of the above documents and items had to carry a tax stamp.

In April 1763, George Grenville (Lord Grenville) became the British Prime Minister. Although the French and Indian War (aka the Seven Years War 1755-1763) was a victory for the British they were left with a massive war debt. Before the French and Indian War the British national debt was only 72 million pounds. By the end of the French and Indian War the debt had escalated to almost 130 million pounds. British Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Grenville, needed to find ways of reducing the war debt, but the further taxation of English citizens in Britain created a serious threat of revolt. The defeat of France had removed the political threat posed by the French, and the British, under Lord Grenville, were sufficiently confident to tighten their control over the American colonies. His policy was to raise revenue by taxing the American colonists, rather than taxing the British. The various policies and taxes that he had already imposed on the American colonists included the Stamp Act of 1765 - Background Information
Reversal of Salutary Neglect and the Sugar Act. The Stamp Act was just one of the taxes Britain intended to impose on the colonies...

Raise revenue to pay clear the War Debt incurred during the French Indian Wars (Seven Years War)

Raise revenue to pay for the military presence in the American colonies to enforce the new taxes

Divert new taxes and duties from Britain to the American colonies

Assert British governmental authority over the American colonies

Re-enforce the polices of previous Acts in relation to duties, taxes and currency - refer to Revolutionary Timeline and Colonial, Continental and Revolutionary Currency

Implement new taxes on paper documents

Images of Stamp Act Stamps showing that the Stamp Tax had been paid

Value of Stamp Tax Document Description

£10

Attorney Licenses

2s..6d

Land grants under 200 - 320 acres and an additional 2s..6d for every additional 320 acres

There were some other items that were subject to the Stamp Act of 1765:

Any publications in foreign tongues had to pay twice the normal rates

The apprenticeship system was also subject to the Stamp Tax. Indenture contracts were taxed at the rate of 6d on every £1

Dice were the only non-paper items listed under the 1765 Stamp Act - Stamp impressions were made on the dice as proof that the Stamp Tax had been paid

As the Stamp Tax applied to both playing cards and dice this can be viewed as an indirect tax on gambling

Newspaper posting of the
Stamp Act

The Stamp Act Stamps showed that the appropriate tax had been paid in British currency (see the images of the stamps). The Stamp Act Stamps had to be paid with 'hard currency' and not in paper money, which was the most common form of payment in the colonies. The American colonies suffered a constant shortage of 'hard currency' (silver and gold). There were no gold or silver mines in the colonies. Silver and gold coins (hard currency) could only be obtained through trade as regulated by Great Britain as trade with any other countries was banned by the British - see the Payment for Stamp Act Stamps - Gold or Silver
Currency Act of 1764.

Stamp Act 1765 - Penalties, Fines and Forfeitures
There were various penalties, fine and forfeitures for anyone who had a part in printing or offering for sale unstamped matter subject to tax. The fine was 40s up to £10. Every pack of cards or pair of dice sold unstamped there was a fine of £10.And should an unstamped newspaper or pamphlet fail to state the name and address of the publisher, the seller faced a further penalty of £20 for each offence.

Stamp Act 1765 - Counterfeited Documents - Death
The Stamp Act of 1765 was really severe on anyone involved in the counterfeit of documents. The wording of the Stamp Act says it all:

"...counterfeit mark or impression thereon, knowing such mark or impression to be counterfeited; then every person so offending shall be adjudged a felon, and shall suffer death as in cases of felony without the benefit of clergy..."

The fines and penalties for anyone offending the Stamp Act were harsh and these penalties caused even more consternation as any cases were heard by the Admiralty Courts. The Admiralty Courts had been originally instituted to try violations of the law on the high seas - refer to the No Trial by Jury for anyone who offended the Stamp Act 1765
Navigation Acts. The British had used the Admiralty Courts in America to try individuals believed to be evading duties or smuggling. There was no trial by jury in the Admiralty Courts. Cases were decided by judges rather than juries.

The Stamp Act of 1765 was seen as detrimental to Colonial America and sewed the seeds of dissension and rebellion in the colonies. The colonists outrage and violent reaction to the Stamp Act came as a great surprise to the British government. The British believed they had a right to enforce their trade policies and taxes as the Mother Country. And the colonists had become accustomed, to a limited degree, to the British regulation of trade and taxes. So what was the The Colonists Reaction to the Stamp Act of 1765
difference between the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, why was the reaction to the Stamp Act so strong, what was the significance of the Stamp Act?

The previous policies and taxes had only applied to specific types of trade and commerce in the different areas of the American colonies

The taxes levied by the Stamp Act were not to regulate commerce and trade, but to directly grasp money out of colonists

The Stamp Act effected all of the colonists

The colonies believed that the Stamp Act was a deliberate attempt to undercut their commercial strength and their independence

The tax was introduced by a direct order from Britain without approval of the colonial legislature

The Stamp Act was the first direct tax, a tax on domestically produced and consumed items, that Parliament ever levied upon the colonists

The colonists viewed the British regulation of trade as legal but the British imposition of internal taxes on the colonies, was perceived to be illegal

The act was to be enforced by stamp agents, with penalties for violating the act to be imposed by vice-admiralty courts, which sat without juries

The colonists believed in their rights to trial by jury

The Stamp Act united the colonists in New England, the Middle and the Southern colonies and stirred a storm of protest in the New World

The Stamp Act led to the first concerted effort by the American colonists to resist the British Parliament and the authority of Great Britain

The high taxes on lawyers and college students were designed to limit the growth of a professional class in the American colonies

The Stamp Act was viewed by the American colonists as a means of censorship, or a "knowledge tax," on the rights of the colonists to write and read freely

The opposition to the Act was led by the most influential segments of colonial society. These men were most affected by the Act and included lawyers, clergymen, journalists, publishers, land owners, ship builders and merchants

The Act led to the doctrine of 'consent by the governed'

The Stamp Act of 1765 led to the creation of resistance groups such as the Sons of Liberty

The Stamp Act crisis led the colonists to perceive themselves as American rather than British

Protesting against the Stamp Act
Steps had to be taken before full scale rebellion broke out in the colonies. Concerned parties were agitating for the Repeal of the Stamp Act. Benjamin Franklin, who was the colonial agent for Pennsylvania, spoke before the House of Commons in early 1766 about the Stamp Act. He clearly stated that any attempt to enforce the Stamp Act by the use of troops might bring on rebellion and called for the repeal of the Act. Arguments against the Stamp Act were distributed from assembly to assembly in the form of "circulars" and Patrick Henry introduced seven resolutions against the Stamp Act in the Virginia House of Burgesses. The Repeal of the Stamp Act is approved by the House of Commons in February 1766. The repeal of the Stamp Act was then approved by the House of Lords in May 1766. The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act because boycotts were damaging British trade but at the same time they used the Declaratory Act to save face. The declaration stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and asserted Parliament's authority to pass laws that were binding on the American colonies - the passage of the The Repeal of the Stamp Act
Declaratory Act was the beginning of more trouble...

Stamp Act - British Laws and Taxes
Discover interesting facts and information about the Taxes in the 13 Colonies, including the Stamp Act, which was imposed on the colonists of Colonial America by the British government via parliament. The Stamp Act was one of a series of taxes that divided Great Britain and its colonies in America. Despite the threat of rebellion and the intensity of the protests against the Stamp Act in the American colonies additional acts were passed in the British parliament which were deemed to be detrimental to the colonies. The Stamp Act led to outrage, anger, resentment, dissension and ultimately revolution in Colonial America - the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.
Taxes in the Colonies - The Declaration of Independence
Stamp Act

Meaning and Definition of the Stamp Act

History of the Stamp Act of 1765

Fast Facts and info about Stamp Act timeline

The Stamp Act article is a great history resource for kids

Social Studies Homework help for kids on the Stamp Act of 1765

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The definition and purpose of the 1765 Stamp Act and the cry of "No taxation without representation!" Definition of the Stamp Act The Meaning and Definition of the Stamp Act: The Stamp Act of 1765 was a British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain during the reign of King George III during the ministry of George Grenville (Lord Grenville).

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Learn about the The Stamp Act of 1765. A tax the Britain placed on the American colonies eventually leading the Revolutionary War.

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The French and Indian War proved extremely expensive. In fact, Prime Minister William Pitt nearly bankrupted Parliament to pay for fighting a war overseas. Parliament enacted the Sugar Act in 1764. The Sugar Act imposed new duties (taxes) on American commodities such as sugar, molasses, textiles, coffee and indigo. Unlike previous taxes, this tax was enforced and accused smugglers were prosecuted. American colonists were enraged by the Sugar Act because they did not think they should be taxed in the same way British residents were. For the first time, as the Virginia House of Burgesses asserted, the famous words, "no taxation without representation" were uttered. American colonists argued that they should not be subjected to taxes unless they had elected representatives in Parliament.

To make matters worse, Parliament passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765. The Stamp Act required Americans to purchase tax stamps for any printed documents including newspapers, legal documents, marriage licenses and more. On March 24th, Parliament passed the Quartering Act which required Americans to provide housing and provisions to British soldiers. Colonists wondered why troops were being sent to America after the French and Indian War. Many believed the troops were sent over to suppress freedoms Americans had enjoyed.

Opposition to the Stamp Act was universal. In 1765, the Massachusetts General Court organized opposition to the Stamp Act. Representatives from nine colonies drafted a petition calling for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Street mobs, calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, destroyed royal offices in Massachusetts and New York. When the Stamp Act was to be officially implemented, on November 1, 1765, all stamp agents sent over from England had been intimidated into resigning their posts. Meanwhile, Americans increasingly imported goods illegally which caused British merchants and manufacturers to lose business. Some, such as Samuel Adams, began to call for independence because Parliament had exceeded its authority. In March of 1766, Parliament agreed to repeal the Stamp Act, but passed the Declaratory Act which reaffirmed their right to pass any law in America.

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The French and Indian War proved extremely expensive. In fact, Prime Minister William Pitt nearly bankrupted Parliament to pay for fighting a war overseas. Parliament enacted the Sugar Act in 1764. The Sugar Act imposed new duties (taxes) on American commodities such as sugar, molasses, textiles, coffee and indigo.