
Protests against the Stamp Act in Annapolis
The Stamp Act 1765 was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the Thirteen Colonies and required that printed materials (including legal documents, magazines, playing cards, and newspapers) in the colonies be printed on stamped paper from London, while payment of the tax was required to be with British pounds rather than colonial paper money. The tax was adopted to pay for the British Army garrisons stationed in North America in the aftermath of the French and Indian War, but the colonists argued that they had no fear of French invasion, and that the tax was meant to pay the salaries of British army officers and career soldiers. The Stamp Act's passage led to cries of "no taxation without representation" among colonists seeking greater autonomy from Britain, who called themselves "Whigs" and labeled the supporters of despotic Crown authority as "Tories". The Sons of Liberty arranged protests throughout the colonies, resulting in the act's repeal in March 1766. However, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, declaring its power to legislate over the colonies, and several new taxes would be levied in the coming years, hastening the American Revolution.