Station 3: The Stamp Act of 1765

Transcription

1 Station 3: The Stamp Act of 1765 Directions With your group: 1. Read the article about the Stamp Act and complete the questions. Be sure your answers are complete. 2. Next, read Document A a primary source document and answer the questions for Document A. 3. Read Document B another primary source document and answer the questions for Document B. 4. Read Document C another primary source document and answer the questions for Document C. 5. Finally, compare all three documents (A, B, and C) to answer the Wrapup questions 6. Number your sheets as follows: a. Questions for the Stamp Act article = page 17 b. Questions for Document A = page 18 c. Questions for Document B = page 19 d. Questions for Document C = page 20 e. Questions for the Wrap-up = page Complete your Table of Contents to match the page numbers listed above. 8. Place pages into the Resources section of your binder, in the appropriate order.

2 Stamp Act The British government had other problems after the French and Indian War. One was how to pay off the large debt from the French and Indian War. The solution seemed obvious to Prime Minister George Grenville, the leader of the British government. People in Great Britain were already paying taxes on everything from windows to salt. In contrast, Americans were probably the most lightly taxed people in the British Empire. It was time, said Grenville, for the colonists to pay their fair share of the cost of protecting them from Indians. In 1765, Grenville proposed a new act, or law, called the Stamp Act. This law required colonists to buy a stamp for every piece of paper they used. Newspapers had to be printed on stamped paper. Wills, licenses, and even playing cards had to have stamps. Once again, the colonists sensed tyranny. One newspaper, The Pennsylvania Journal, said that as soon as this shocking Act was known, it filled all British America from one End to the other, with Astonishment and Grief. It wasn t just the idea of higher taxes that upset the colonists. They were willing to pay taxes passed by their own assemblies, where their representatives could vote on them. But the colonists had no representatives in Parliament. For this reason, they argued, Parliament had no right to tax them. They saw the Stamp Act as a violation of their rights as British subjects. No taxation without representation! they declared. Some colonists protested the Stamp Act by sending messages to Parliament. Loyalists simply refused to buy stamps. Patriots, however, took more violent action. Mobs calling themselves Sons of Liberty attacked tax collectors homes. Protesters in Connecticut even started to bury one tax collector alive. Only when he heard dirt being shoveled onto his coffin did the terrified tax collector agree to resign from his post. After months of protest, Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act. Americans greeted the news with great celebration. Church bells rang, bands played, and everyone hoped the troubles with Great Britain were over.

3 Name: page 17 Teacher s Last Name: Class: Date: The Stamp Act Answer the following questions as you read The Stamp Act. 1. What was a problem the British government faced after the French and Indian War? 2. For Prime Minister George Grenville, what was the obvious solution? Why did he see this as an obvious solution? 3. What was the Stamp Act? When was it propose? 4. Why did the colonists view the Stamp Act as tyranny (unjust use of government power)? 5. List two ways colonists protested the Stamp Act 6. How did Parliament respond to the colonists protests? 7. What does the word repeal mean? 8. What is the definition of violation?

4 Document A (Modified) Boston-Gazette, October 7, 1765 My Dear Countrymen, AWAKE! Awake, my Countrymen and defeat those who want to enslave us. Do not be cowards. You were born in Britain, the Land of Light, and you were raised in America, the Land of Liberty. It is your duty to fight this tax. Future generations will bless your efforts and honor the memory of the saviors of their country. I urge you to tell your representatives that you do not support this terrible and burdensome law. Let them know what you think. They should act as guardians of the liberty of their country. I look forward to congratulating you on delivering us from the enemies of truth and liberty. Source: This letter appeared in the Boston-Gazette newspaper on October 7, 1765.

5 Name: page 18 Teacher s Last Name: Class: Date: Questions for Document A (Modified) Using Document A from the Boston-Gazette, answer the following questions. 1. When was this document written? 2. Where was it published? 3. What was going on at the time? 4. What were people thinking and doing? 5. What did the author mean by the phrase, You were born in Britain, the Land of the Light? 6. What did the author mean by the phrase, enemies of truth and liberty? 7. According to this document, how did the colonists feel about the Stamp Act and Great Britain?

6 Document B {Modified) Boston-Gazette Supplement, 27 January 1766 From a late London Paper. The riotous behavior of the people in Boston is remarkable. I would have been less surprised by their behavior if we had taxed their beer, because everyone drinks beer. But the Stamp Act is a tax on none of the necessities of life. It does not affect the poor. And even a poor person can afford this little amount of money. The tax on newspapers only affects the rich common people do not purchase newspapers. Isn't it surprising, then, that the mob in Boston has begun to riot against this tax even before it has officially gone into effect? Source: This letter was written in a London newspaper and then published in the Boston Gazette Supplement two months after the Stamp Act went into effect.

7 Name: page 19 Teacher s Last Name: Class: Date: Questions for Document B(Modified) Using Document B from the Boston-Gazette/London Paper, answer the following questions. 1. This article comes from a London paper. What would you predict the author s perspective will be on the Stamp Act? 2. What happened in Boston? 3. Why is the author surprised by the colonists behavior? 4. Who reads the newspapers according to the author? 5. According to this document, why were colonists upset about the Stamp Act?

8 Philadelphia January 13th Document C (Modified) My Lords, The colonists have been insulting His Majesty, saying that the Stamp Act was unconstitutional, and oppressive. It is apparent to many people here that the Presbyterians are at the head of these riots. They are opposed to Kings and some cry out 'No King but King Jesus.' The leaders fill every newspaper with inflammatory pieces, so that the minds of the common people are kept in a continual ferment... No one dares write anything that would calm the people down. Doing so would put the writer's life and fortune in danger. I am convinced the Presbyterians intend nothing less than the throwing off their allegiance and obedience to his Majesty, and forming a Republican Empire, in America, and being Lords and Masters themselves. I am daily threatened by verbal messages and anonymous letters, with a mob of several thousand people, from the Jerseys, New York, and New England. I conclude with praying, that the Almighty may secure the allegiance of America to the Crown of Britain, by destroying the seeds of rebellion, and by punishing the ringleaders of these riots. I am, My Lords, Your most Obedient & Most Humble Servant, John Hughes Source: The letter above was written by John Hughes, Stamp Distributor in Philadelphia, to his bosses in London. His job was to collect the tax on stamps.

9 Name: page 20 Teacher s Last Name: Class: Date: Questions for Document C (Modified) Use Document C, the letter by John Hughes, to answer the following questions. 1. Who wrote this and what is his job? Does he side with England or with the colonists? How do you know? 2. Based on his account, what's going on in America in 1766? How has the Stamp Act affected him personally? Provide evidence from the document to support your answer. 3. Do you believe his account? Give one reason why you would trust his account, and one reason why you might not trust his account? 4. How does the account in this document compare to the accounts in Stamp Act Documents A and B? Do you think most colonists were upset about the Stamp Act, or do you think a few leaders riled up everyone?

10 Name: page 21 Teacher s Last Name: Class: Date: Wrap- up Looking at Documents A, B and C, answer the following questions. 1. Why were colonists upset about the Stamp Act? 2. Was the Stamp Act an unreasonable and unfair tax? 3. Were the colonists treated like slaves? 4. Were the British violating colonists' rights? 5. How were the colonists behaving in response to the Stamp Act? 6. Some historians have argued that the American Revolution happened because a few rich leaders riled up all the poor people. Do these documents provide evidence for argument? Is that evidence believable?