Digging Into the Stamp Act Why were the colonists upset about the Stamp Act?

Introduction After winning the French-Indian War in 1763, the British were in a lot of debt. Tried to raise money by taxing the American colonists. March 1765, the British passed the Stamp Act. Went into effect November 1, 1765. Placed a tax on all newspapers and other printed materials. The Stamp Act would have an effect on anyone who bought a printed item.

Sourcing a Document Read the SOURCE at the bottom of the document. Think about WHO wrote it, WHEN it was written, who the AUDIENCE is, and what the author’s PURPOSE might have been. Written in October 1765…before the tax went into effect Boston newspaper Predictions: Newspapers would have been affected by the Stamp Act This letter will oppose the Act Since it came out of Boston…guess that a letter printed in this newspaper would oppose the Stamp Act. Document A

Contextualization Next…what was going on at the time? What were people thinking and doing? What did people believe? Calls Britain the “Land of Light” and America “the Land of Liberty” Means: Still proud to be a descendent of England, feels like America is truly the land of liberty. Conclusion: Difficult to decide to fight against the British, feel like they are still British themselves. Urges readers to speak to their representatives. Point of Confusion: weren’t the colonists upset about “no taxation without representation?” Meaning: Must have some sort of representation but not as much as they want! Says “enemies of truth and liberty” Means: Believes that British were violating American rights by passing the Stamp Act.

Contextualization So, according to this document… Colonists were upset about the Stamp Act because they thought that England was violating their rights. YOUR TURN!

SOURCING QUESTIONS What newspaper does this come from? What would you predict the author’s perspective will be on the Stamp Act? Was this written before or after the Stamp Act went into effect? Document B: Tricky because it’s from a London newspaper, but it was reprinted in the Boston-Gazette. Based on the fact that the letter was first written in a London paper, students should predict that it would support the Stamp Act; however, that begs the question of why the Boston-Gazette would reprint a letter from a London paper – maybe to show its readers what the British were saying about them?? Says it was published in Boston-Gazette in January 1766, so that would be AFTER the Stamp Act went into effect, but we don’t know when it was originally written in the London paper.

CONTEXT QUESTIONS What happened in Boston? Why is the author surprised Who reads the newspapers, according to the author? According to this document, why were colonists upset about the Stamp Act? Document B

Document C: Letter from John Hughes Read Document C Work through the sourcing and contextualization questions on your handout. You can work on your own or with a partner. Be prepared to discuss!

Corroboration & Crosschecking After historians have read a few documents…they CORROBORATE or CROSSCHECK. Do the docs agree? Do they tell the same or different stories? Which is more believable?

Let’s Corroborate! According to all three documents: Why were colonists upset about the Stamp Act? Was the Stamp Act an unreasonable and unfair tax? Were the colonists treated like slaves? Were the British violating colonists'’ rights? How were the colonists behaving in response to the Stamp Act? 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?

Thomas Paine: Common Sense In the pamphlet “Common Sense”, Thomas Paine summed up the American sentiment for independence from England. Although he claimed he never read John Locke, Paine’s ideas on natural rights are similar to Locke’s ideas. Paine believed government should be based on the consent of the people. He believed the people should have a right to change their government. Paine is notable for fostering the idea during the American Revolution that Americans were fighting a noble crusade for humanity.

Government is a necessary evil. Monarchy is a ridiculous form of government. The people should be allowed to abolish their government. All people should be equal in their rights. Government should use its tax money to help the poor and provide pensions for the elderly. Each generation should create its own constitution. A republican government should have frequent elections. A victory in the American Revolution is a victory for humanity. The United States should serve as an “asylum for mankind.”

What do you think? PICK THREE QUOTES… On a scale of 1 to 5, rate your opinion of the following quotations by Paine. Write a short statement JUSTIFYING your rating. Let’s talk about it!