Stamp Act (Noun)
Meaning
An act passed by the British Parliament in 1756 that raised revenue from the American Colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents; opposition by the Colonies resulted in the repeal of the act in 1766.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The British government introduced the Stamp Act in an attempt to increase revenue from the colonies without granting them representation in parliament.
- The colonies fiercely resisted the Stamp Act, arguing that it was taxation without representation and an affront to their rights as British subjects.
- One of the primary causes of the American Revolution was the Stamp Act, which led to widespread protests and boycotts throughout the colonies.
- In response to the Stamp Act, Patrick Henry delivered his famous "give me liberty or give me death" speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
- Following intense opposition from the American colonies, the British government ultimately repealed the Stamp Act, but the episode had already galvanized colonial resistance to British rule.