Stamp Act

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Stamp Act, 1765. The Stamp Act, introduced by George Grenville, was the most important single piece of parliamentary legislation affecting British–American relations. It imposed duties on goods and services (legal documents, appointments to public offices, ship's papers, etc.) in the British colonies in order to raise money for military expenses in America. Protests against Parliament's right to tax the colonies, widespread discussions of political liberty, crowd violence, and trade boycotts followed. In Britain, petitions from British merchants and manufacturers led to its repeal by the Rockingham Whigs, ostensibly for commercial reasons in 1766. This was accompanied by the Declaratory Act's simultaneous enactment.

Richard C. Simmons

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