The Stamp Act - Article Example

This document is about the Stamp Act that the British Parliament passed which was written by James J. Lorence, Paul S. Boyer, Clifford E. Clark, Jr, Joseph F, Kett Neal Salisbury, Harvard Sitkoff and Nancy Woloch as the authors in the year 2000.The document is an excerpt from a book which is not a work of fiction.

According to this document, all the American colonists had the new tax imposed on them and were supposed to pay tax for every printed paper that they used whether it is printed or written. That money that was collected would then be used to pay his majesty, his successors and heirs in the American colonies and plantations. The Act further stated that any other money that shall be raised from several other duties and rates should be paid to the Majestys Exchequer receipt. It was supposed to be recorded differently from other sources of money and be disposed by the Parliament from time to time to cater for the expenses incurred in defending, securing and protecting of the plantations and colonies.

The main claim of the authors is that the law was offensive to the colonists regarding the standards that it set. The Stamp Act was viewed as an attempt of raising money in the colonies by England without the colonial legislatures approving it, and it would result in more problems in the future regarding taxation. To them, the Act was offensive since the Americans had the same rights as that of the Englishmen. Their representatives were the only people who had the right to tax them. To further support their claim it was unreasonable and inconsistent for the people of Great Britain to Grant His Majesty the property that belonged to the colonists and also supplies to the Crown and gifts of the people.

The word colony grabs my attention in the article since some colonies tend to be territories which do not have a definite statehood from their inception while others are countries historically. The word His Majesty also grabs my attention since the word is meant to mean a high aspect in a person with dignity what was not the case in the Stamp Act.

This document intends to reach out to the current government and the future generation of America. The government will use it to avoid repeating the same mistakes of over taxing its people and let the people representatives be the ones imposing various regulations. It will help the future generation to know the role of their representatives and the purpose of them being taxed. The document was written to show how the stamp Act had violated the peoples right and how they amended it and the claims they gave to show that the Act was unfair.

During this period of the Stamp Act life in the United States seems it was hard and the economy was doing poorly since the reason for imposing the Stamp Act was to raise funds to help pay off debts and defend the new American territories that had been won from the French after the seven years of war.

References

Lorence, J. J., & Boyer, P. S. (2000). Enduring voices: Document sets to accompany the enduring vision, a history of the American people, fourth edition, by Paul S. Boyer [and others]. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.