Stamp Act Congress

The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting of delegates from 9 out of the 13 colonies in America. The purpose for this meeting was to discuss the Stamp Act that was imposed on the colonies by Parliament. Parliament is the reigning governing body in England, and it is the body that creates and implements all rules, regulations, acts, taxes, and various other structures that are used on nations, and in various regions.

The Stamp Act was an act passed by Parliament that would have papers stamped with an official seal by Parliament. All of the official paper was to be taxed by England, and the tax was to be paid for, along with the purchase of the paper goods. The reason this tax was implemented was to generate revenue in order to maintain the British Troops that were also stationed in the colonies. The colonies were required to pay for this tax using legal British tender; and they were the most heavily taxed, because the British troops were serving them more than England itself.

The Stamp Act Congress came together on Oct 19, 1765 in New York, in order to discuss the unfairness of the Stamp Act. Through the discourse of the delegates, there was a general census that since the colonies did not have representation in Parliament, it is unfair that Parliament has the right to make laws and implement taxes over this colonies. Instead, the Stamp Act Congress believed that the colonies themselves should have the powers of congress in order to govern themselves, because the colonies knew what they needed better than Parliament.

The Stamp Act congress crafted a document called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, where the body aired the concerns and necessity for change, in order to gain the powers of congress for their respective lands.

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