The King of England Tries to Tighten His Control
King George III thought it was time to tighten his control
on the colonies for several reasons:
King George made a law called the Proclamation of 1763
which stated the colonists could not move westward over the Appalachian Mountains.
The British passed several more laws which also angered the colonists. In 1764 a law was
passed which said the colonies could not print or use their own money.
Finally in 1765, the Stamp Act was passed. The tax stamps
had to be put on 54 kinds of papers, including playing cards, newspapers, wills and
licenses. The payments varied from one cent on a newspaper to ten dollars on a college
diploma. The payments had to be made in gold or silver.
The colonists began to speak out against the new taxes. Patrick Henry from
Virginia spoke the loudest. He said the British Parliament made these laws, but no
colonists were in the Parliament.
In October 1765 nine colonies sent people to a meeting in New York City to
talk about the Stamp Act. They made the decision that the Parliament could not tax the
American colonies since they had no representation in Parliament. The phrase stated by
James Otis, a Boston lawyer, "No taxation without representation," was
heard throughout the colonies. The men at this meeting sent a letter asking Britain to
repeal the Stamp Act. The British would not listen. Instead they placed new taxes on the
In 1767 the British passed the Townsend Act. This act
placed taxes on tea, glass, paper, and paint. Many colonists refused to pay the taxes or
to buy any goods made in England.
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