What rights were violated through the stamp act?

Answer 1

Most colonists were outraged by the tax because they saw it as an unjust attempt to raise money in the colonies without the consent of the colonists. They did not elect members of Parliament and there was no approval required by the various colonial legislatures. Although the Stamp Act itself was not a harsh measure, colonists feared the standard this new type of legislation would set. "No taxation without representation" became the rallying cry.

The Americans drew a distinction between an internal tax on the colonists (the stamp act) and an external tax on the trade of the colonies. http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/patrickhenry.htmoffered several anti-stamp act resolutions in the House of Burgesses in Virginia, most of which were passed. Virginia declared that it would not pay taxes which had not been approved by its legislature. The royal governor of Virginia, appointed by the King of Britain, did not approve the resolutions and dissolved the House of Burgesses, precipitating a crisis.

Newspapers attempted to avoid the requirements of the act by issuing sheets without the masthead and other characteristics of a newspaper. In this way they were able to continue publishiing without risk of prosecution for their resistance to the act. One such paper was the http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/nostamps.htm. On October 31, 1765 the publishers announced the suspension of the Gazette in opposition to the provisions of the Stamp Act which required that it be printed on imported, stamped paper.

In addition to rhetoric, the colonists waged a campaign which included evasion and http://wiki.answers.com/didyouknow/tarringandfeathering.htmto fight the tax and intimidate the tax collectors. No stamp commissioner or tax collector was actually tarred and feathered but by November 1, 1765, the day the Stamp Act tax went into effect, there were no stamp commissioners left in the colonies to collect it.

http://wiki.answers.com/Franklin.htmwas a colonial agent in London at the time and testified before Parliament about the colonies' attitude toward the tax. They were trying to understand the colonists' strong feeling against the tax. Franklin testified:

I never heard any objection to the right of laying duties to regulate

commerce; but a right to lay internal taxes was never supposed to be in

Parliament, as we are not represented there. . . .

The tax was http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/stampactrepeal.HTMLin 1766 after Franklin's testimony, but it was not the end of the taxation issue.

Most colonists were outraged by the tax because they saw it as an unjust attempt to raise money in the colonies without the consent of the colonists. They did not elect members of Parliament and there was no approval required by the various colonial legislatures. Although the Stamp Act itself was not a harsh measure, colonists feared the standard this new type of legislation would set. "No taxation without representation" became the rallying cry.

The Americans drew a distinction between an internal tax on the colonists (the stamp act) and an external tax on the trade of the colonies. http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/patrickhenry.htmoffered several anti-stamp act resolutions in the House of Burgesses in Virginia, most of which were passed. Virginia declared that it would not pay taxes which had not been approved by its legislature. The royal governor of Virginia, appointed by the King of Britain, did not approve the resolutions and dissolved the House of Burgesses, precipitating a crisis.

Newspapers attempted to avoid the requirements of the act by issuing sheets without the masthead and other characteristics of a newspaper. In this way they were able to continue publishiing without risk of prosecution for their resistance to the act. One such paper was the http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/nostamps.htm. On October 31, 1765 the publishers announced the suspension of the Gazette in opposition to the provisions of the Stamp Act which required that it be printed on imported, stamped paper.

In addition to rhetoric, the colonists waged a campaign which included evasion and http://wiki.answers.com/didyouknow/tarringandfeathering.htmto fight the tax and intimidate the tax collectors. No stamp commissioner or tax collector was actually tarred and feathered but by November 1, 1765, the day the Stamp Act tax went into effect, there were no stamp commissioners left in the colonies to collect it.

http://wiki.answers.com/Franklin.htmwas a colonial agent in London at the time and testified before Parliament about the colonies' attitude toward the tax. They were trying to understand the colonists' strong feeling against the tax. Franklin testified:

I never heard any objection to the right of laying duties to regulate

commerce; but a right to lay internal taxes was never supposed to be in

Parliament, as we are not represented there. . . .

The tax was http://wiki.answers.com/primarysources/stampactrepeal.HTMLin 1766 after Franklin's testimony, but it was not the end of the taxation issue.

many rights we violated like paying taxes stright to the british government