When was the stamp act repealed

In March 1766 the British parliament introduced legislation repealing the Stamp Act, 12 months after it had been given royal assent by the king:

“An Act was passed in the last session of Parliament entitled ‘An Act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties in the British colonies and plantations in America towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several Acts of Parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned’…

The continuance of the said Act would be attended with many inconveniences and may be productive of consequences greatly detrimental to the commercial interests of these kingdoms; may it therefore please your most excellent Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the king’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled… that from and after the first day of May 1766, the above-mentioned Act and the several matters and things therein contained shall be hereby repealed and made void to all intents and purposes whatsoever.”

Home » Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was nullified before it went into effect and was repealed by parliament on March 18, 1766 under the Marquis of Rockingham.

In the summer of 1765 King George III fired George Grenville and replaced him with Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham. For the new Prime Minister the only alternative to repealing the tax was a long and costly civil war with the American colonies. Britain, as the world greatest power, could not give up on the decision to uphold the tax and give in to mobs and activist in its colonies. Under those circumstances the Marquis of Rockingham had to find a face saving excuse to repeal the tax. The King was not in favor of a repeal but he wanted a modification that would keep the tax only on dice and playing cards, however more difficult to enforce. Rockingham threatened to resign and the king conceded to repeal the Stamp Act entirely.

Three pieces of legislation made the repeal of the Stamp Act possible putting an end to the crisis. The first one was interpreted as a face saving motion. It was theDeclaratory Act which affirmed that Parliament had the “full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America…in all cases whatsoever”. The text did not mentioned “taxes” and Rockingham resisted pressure to include “taxes” along with “laws and statutes” in the document. The omission of the word “taxes” affirmed the position of the colonist and drew a clear distinction between British legislation (which they could) and taxation (which they could not).

The second one was an economic legislation which labeled the Stamp Act as detrimental to commercial interest of Britain. The boycott to British goods had been felt in many industries across the Atlantic as well as in the trade of West Indies natural resources. The American colonies had resorted to smuggling needed goods from French and Spanish traders.

The third was the Revenue Act which reduced the duty on molasses from three pence to one penny per gallon on all molasses imported from foreign or British territories. This duty generated more revenue than any other duty or tax in the colonies. Few protested this act as it was not seen as internal taxation but external taxation on trade.

In summary, the repeal of the Stamp Act was successful because Britain realized the distinction between internal and external taxes. Parliament had tried to extend its authority over the colonies’ internal affairs and failed but continued to collect duties in its ports to regulate trade and as revenue. In other words, external taxes did not affect the principle of “no taxation without representation”.

Back to Stamp Act History Homepage

Guest post by Kayla Carucci, Book Division student assistant and graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Information.

With the move from Ellsworth back to campus finally complete, the Clements staff and volunteers grow more excited by the day for the reopening of the reading room. Relocating the collections served as a reminder of how vast and varied the Clements Library holdings are.

In March 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a controversial taxation measure which forced colonists to purchase a British stamp for every paper product they obtained, including but not limited to newspapers, licenses, wills, deeds and playing cards. The tax ranged from three pence to two pounds for each individual sheet of parchment, vellum, or paper depending on the intended use; for example, a certificate or diploma from an institution carried a two pound tax, the modern-day equivalent of $352.79 USD. However, such documents were not commonplace; a pack of playing cards, found in many households, carried a one shilling tax. In today’s society, it would be the same as paying $8.60 USD, in addition to the price of the deck.

American colonial protests began shortly after its passage, escalating into riots in the fall of 1765. Colonists boycotted British goods and attacked the homes of tax collectors and supporters of the Act.

The law became effective in November 1765 and Benjamin Franklin, then residing in London, received sharp criticism in part for his delayed rebuke of the measure. In mid-February 1766, Franklin appeared before the British House of Commons to speak in support of a repeal. A mere four months after its enactment, the Stamp Act was repealed on March 18, 1766. Yet, on the same day, the Declaratory Act passed, setting firmly in place Parliament’s legal authority and supremacy over the colonies.

Nevertheless, an obelisk made of wood was erected on the Boston Common as a celebration; candles illuminated it from within. Each side of the obelisk portrayed the colonists’ struggles with the Stamp Act. The obelisk itself became a satirical work of art, and Paul Revere made this famous schematic engraving to preserve it. The bottom of the page reads, “To every Lover of Liberty, this Plate is humbly dedicated, by her true born Sons, in Boston New England.”

Several months after repeal, an exposé essay appeared in a supplement of the Pennsylvania Journal, which attempted to prove that Benjamin Franklin was an author of the Stamp Act, based in part on the knowledge that he had recommended merchant John Hughes, a friend, for the position of stamp distributor in Philadelphia. In an eloquent letter to Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly member/speaker Joseph Galloway, Franklin responded to the accusation.

The letter states: “Dear friend, I received your kind Letter of Sept. the 22d. and from another Friend a Copy of that lying Essay in which I am represented as the Author of the Stamp Act, and you as concern’d in it. The Answer you mention is not yet come to hand. Your Consolation, my Friend, and mine, under these Abuses, must be, that we do not deserve them. But what can console the Writers and Promoters of such infamously false Accusations, if they should ever come themselves to a Sense of that Malice of their Hearts, and that Stupidity of their Heads, which by these Papers they have manifested and exposed to all the World. Dunces often write Satyrs on themselves, when they think all the while that they are mocking their Neighbours. Let us, as we ever have done, uniformly endeavour the Service of our Country, according to the best of our Judgment and Abilities, and Time will do us Justice. Dirt thrown on a Mud-Wall may stick and incorporate; but it will not long adhere to polish’d Marble. I can now only add that I am, with Sincerest Esteem and Affection, Yours, B Franklin”

On March 18, 1766, exactly 250 years ago, after four months of widespread protest in America, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure enacted to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. What better way to commemorate this occasion than with a United States Postal Service Forever stamp?

The Stamp Act was passed on March 22, 1765, leading to an uproar in the colonies over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: Taxation without representation. Enacted in November 1765, the controversial act forced colonists to buy a British stamp for every official document they obtained. Paper materials requiring the stamp included newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, licenses, mortgages, contracts, and bills of sale. A stamp would be embossed on these papers to indicate payment.

The stamp itself displayed an image of a Tudor rose framed by the word “America” and the French phrase Honi soit qui mal y pense – “Shame to him who thinks evil of it.”

The colonists, who had convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the impending enactment, greeted the arrival of the stamps with outrage and violence. Most Americans called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors. After months of protest, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766. However, the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.

The new U.S. stamp depicts a crowd gathered around a “liberty tree” to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act. The selvage area displays a proof print of a one-penny revenue stamp and includes a famous slogan from the era: “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” The stamp will be dedicated between May 28 and June 4 at the World Stamp Show to be held in New York at the Jacob Javits Center, and will be available thereafter in post offices.

Source: This Day in History and USPS.

Tags: