the sons of liberty called for resistance to the stamp act.
the sons of liberty called for resistance to the stamp act.
who called for resistance to the stamp act?
the sons of liberty
many papers assumed a relatively conservative tone before the act went into effect, implying that they might close if it wasn't repealed. however, as time passed and violent demonstrations ensued, the authors became more vitriolic. several newspaper editors were involved with the sons of liberty, such as william bradford of "the pennsylvania journal" and benjamin edes of "the boston gazette", and they echoed the group's sentiments in their publications. the stamp act went into effect that november and many newspapers ran editions with imagery of tombstones and skeletons, emphasizing that their papers were "dead" and would no longer be able to print because of the stamp act. however, most of them returned in the upcoming months, defiantly appearing without the stamp of approval that was deemed necessary by the stamp act. printers were greatly relieved when the law was nullified in the following spring, and the repeal asserted their positions as a powerful voice (and compass) for public opinion.
stamp act 1765
representatives from a number of the thirteen colonies assembled as the stamp act congress in response to the stamp act 1765, to call into question the right of a distant power to tax them without proper representation. the british parliament was then faced with colonies who refused to comply with their act. this, combined with protests that had occurred in the colonies and, perhaps more importantly, protests which had arisen in great britain from manufacturers who were suffering from the colonies' non-importation agreement, all led to the repeal of the stamp act. normally the economic activity in the colonies would not have caused such an outcry, but the british economy was still experiencing a post-war depression from the seven years' war. another reason for repeal of the stamp act was the replacement of george grenville, the prime minister who had enacted the stamp acts, by charles watson-wentworth, 2nd marquess of rockingham. rockingham was more favorable towards the colonies and furthermore he was antagonistic towards policies that grenville had enacted. rockingham invited benjamin franklin to speak to parliament about colonial policy and he portrayed the colonists as in opposition to internal taxes (which were derived from internal colonial transactions) such as the stamp act called for, but not external taxes (which were duties laid on imported commodities). parliament then agreed to repeal the stamp act on the condition that the declaratory act was passed. on march 18, 1766, parliament repealed the stamp act and passed the declaratory act.
declaratory act