The Stamp Act, passed in March 1765, was a British parliamentary measure to raise revenue from the American colonists through a tax on printed matter, in order to pay for costs resulting from the French and Indian War (1754-63; see separate entry). A common revenue device in Britain, the tax was opposed by the colonists, whose representatives were not consulted. Before the amendment of the Sugar Act (separate entry) the previous year, taxes and duties on colonial trade had been viewed in the colonies as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money. The British Prime Minister, Lord Grenville, countered that the funds were to be used to pay for the cost of maintaining 10,000 troops to defend the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. However, with the main threat to the…

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Citation: Seager, Nicholas. "Stamp Act". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1039, accessed 26 November 2024.]