Stamp Act

Stamp Act (1765), first direct tax imposed by the English Parliament on the 13 North American colonies. All legal and commercial documents, pamphlets, playing cards, and newspapers were to carry revenue stamps, which would help finance the British army quartered in America. The colonists balked at the idea of “taxation without representation,” and delegates from 9 colonies met in the Stamp Act Congress held in New York to protest the law. A boycott of British goods finally led Parliament to repeal the act in Mar. 1766.

See also: Taxation.