Stamp Act Congress facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stamp Act Congress/Continental Congress |
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| Part of the American Revolution | |
1d Stamp Act of 1765 proof
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Established | October 7, 1765 |
| Disbanded | October 25, 1765 |
| Preceded by | Albany Congress |
| Succeeded by | 1st Continental Congress |
| Leadership | |
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Chairman of the Congress
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Timothy Ruggles
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| Seats | 27 |
| Meeting place | |
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| City Hall (later Federal Hall, since demolished) New York, New York |
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The Stamp Act Congress was an important meeting held in New York in October 1765. It was also known as the Continental Congress of 1765. This meeting brought together representatives from several British colonies in North America.
It was the first time elected representatives from different American colonies gathered. Their goal was to protest new taxes from Britain. The British Parliament had passed the Stamp Act. This law required colonists to buy special stamped paper for almost all business. This included legal documents, playing cards, newspapers, and even dice. The law was set to begin on November 1, 1765.
Delegates from nine of the eighteen British colonies in North America attended the Congress. All these colonies later became part of the Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. Some other colonies wanted to join, but their royal governors stopped their local governments from sending delegates.
The Congress met in the building where Federal Hall now stands. At this time, many protests, some violent, were happening in the colonies against the Stamp Act. The delegates discussed the act and decided to unite against it. They created a document called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. In this document, they argued that Parliament could not tax them because the colonies had no representatives in Parliament. This idea is known as "no taxation without representation". Representatives from six of the nine groups signed petitions. These were sent to Parliament and King George III. They asked for the Stamp Act to be removed.
The British government was worried about this Congress because it was not officially approved. However, British merchants also started to complain. Their businesses were losing money because colonists were protesting and refusing to buy British goods. These economic problems led the British Parliament to cancel the Stamp Act. This happened on March 18, 1766. But on the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. This act stated that Parliament had the right to make laws for the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
Contents
Why the Stamp Act Happened
After the French and Indian War, Britain needed more money. They wanted to raise money from their colonies overseas. Stationing troops in the colonies was very expensive.
New Taxes from Britain
In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar and Currency Acts. These laws aimed to raise money for the British Crown. They did this by controlling colonial trade more tightly. Colonists protested these acts. However, these taxes were seen as trade duties, not direct taxes. British Prime Minister George Grenville suggested a stamp tax might also be needed. This idea immediately worried colonists.
What the Stamp Act Taxed
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first time Parliament directly taxed the colonies. This law required that many printed materials carry a special stamp. This stamp showed that the tax had been paid. Stamped paper was needed for newspapers, books, court documents, and even playing cards. The money from these taxes was meant to help pay for the British Empire. This included the cost of keeping troops in the colonies. Britain wanted to raise this money without asking the colonial assemblies, which often refused.
Calling for a Big Meeting
In June 1765, the Massachusetts Assembly wrote a letter. They sent it to other colonial governments. The letter asked them to "consult together on the present circumstances of the colonies."
Who Attended the Congress
Nine colonies chose delegates to attend the Congress:
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- New York
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Delaware
- Maryland
- South Carolina
All the delegates chosen were members of their local colonial governments.
Why Some Colonies Didn't Send Delegates
Some colonies did not send delegates for different reasons. The governors of Virginia and Georgia stopped their assemblies from meeting. New Hampshire did not send delegates because of money problems. The governor of New Hampshire also refused to call a special meeting.
In North Carolina, the governor had already closed the assembly. So, no action was taken to send delegates. Nova Scotia also chose not to send delegates. This was despite its strong ties to Massachusetts. Other areas like Quebec and Newfoundland did not have colonial assemblies. Therefore, they were not invited.
When news of the Congress reached London, British officials were very concerned. They saw it as a dangerous step. They noted it was the first time colonies had met without the King's permission.
What Happened at the Congress
Delegates started arriving in New York in late September. The first official meeting of the Congress was on October 7, 1765. It took place in New York's City Hall, which is now Federal Hall. The delegates chose Timothy Ruggles from Massachusetts as their chairman. They chose John Cotton as the secretary to keep records.
The meetings of the Stamp Act Congress were private. New York's acting governor, Cadwallader Colden, called the meeting illegal. But the delegates insisted they were loyal to the King. They believed the Congress would help keep the British Empire united.
Discussions and Decisions
Not much is known about the exact discussions. The official journal only has basic details. The delegates first checked that everyone was properly chosen. They also decided that each colony's group would get one vote.
Early talks focused on the Stamp Act and the earlier Sugar Act. Delegates spent a lot of time discussing the difference between "internal" taxes (like the Stamp Act) and "external" taxes (like trade duties). They argued that only their own colonial assemblies had the right to collect internal taxes.
The delegates quickly agreed to create a statement of rights. This statement would be the basis for their petitions to Parliament and the King. Caesar Rodney, a delegate from Delaware, said it was hard to write the statement. They wanted to show the colonists' rights while still respecting the King and Parliament.
On October 19, the delegates approved the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. This document was mainly for local discussions. Over the next few days, different groups wrote three more documents:
- An address to the King.
- A memorial to the House of Lords (part of Parliament).
- A petition to the House of Commons (the other part of Parliament).
These documents were approved on October 22 and 23.
Signing the Documents
On October 24, there was a debate about signing the documents. The delegates from Connecticut and South Carolina refused to sign. They said their instructions did not allow them to. New York's delegates also refused because they had been chosen informally.
From the other six colonies, Robert Ogden of New Jersey and Timothy Ruggles of Massachusetts also refused to sign. This caused a big argument. Ruggles suggested that no one should sign the documents. He wanted them sent unsigned to the colonial assemblies. James Otis argued that the Massachusetts assembly had allowed its delegates to sign. He said Ruggles' idea would weaken their united front.
The other delegates from the six colonies signed the petitions. But Ruggles and Ogden did not. Both were later questioned by their own assemblies. Ruggles admitted he disagreed with the documents' content. Ogden weakly argued that separate petitions would be better. Ruggles and Thomas McKean had a heated exchange, and Ruggles even challenged McKean to a duel. The duel never happened, and Ruggles left New York early the next day. The Congress met one last time on October 25. The petitions were signed, and plans were made to send them to England. Copies were also made for the colonies that did not attend.
The Declaration and Petitions
The Declaration of Rights and Grievances had fourteen statements. The first six declared loyalty to the King. They also stated that only representatives chosen by the colonists could collect taxes. Since Parliament did not have such representatives, it could not tax them. The seventh statement said that colonists had the right to trial by jury. The other statements protested the Stamp Act. They also explained that the act would hurt trade and British businesses. They repeated the colonists' right to ask the King and Parliament for help.
The petitions sent to the House of Lords and the King were very polite. They spoke of the freedoms colonists had as British subjects. They hoped these freedoms would continue. The petition to the Lords specifically recognized Parliament's authority. The petition to the House of Commons was more detailed. It used economic arguments against the Stamp Act. It also asked for the repeal of a law that created a court in Halifax without juries.
What Happened Next
Copies of the petitions were sent from New York on two ships. One of these ships had arrived during the Congress, carrying the stamped paper. Lord Dartmouth, the colonial secretary, rejected the petition to the Lords. He said it was not a proper document. The House of Commons also refused to consider the petition. They said it came from an unauthorized meeting. They also argued that it denied Parliament's right to tax.
The British government was weak at the time. They needed support against political rivals. So, they gathered support from merchants who opposed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was canceled mainly because of these economic arguments. This happened on March 18, 1766. To deal with the constitutional issues, Parliament also passed the Declaratory Act. This act claimed that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
Lasting Impact
The Stamp Act Congress is seen as one of the first organized actions of the American Revolution. Even though the participants did not want independence from Britain at this point. There were big political differences among the Thirteen Colonies. However, the strong British response to the 1773 Boston Tea Party led to the First Continental Congress. This meeting created a united response to the Intolerable Acts of 1774.
Colonies like Quebec and Nova Scotia had only mild opposition to the Stamp Act. They continued to act moderately as protests grew. They remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
Most of the official papers from the Congress are lost. One copy of its journal is at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Another copy is in the Connecticut state archives. The Maryland copy was written into its assembly's records and printed in 1766.
Delegates Who Attended
| Name | Province | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| William Bayard | New York | Bayard, 38, was a rich New York City merchant. He supported the British during the American Revolutionary War. His lands were taken, and he died in England. |
| Joseph Borden | New Jersey | Borden, 46, was a merchant and major landowner. He was known as one of the wealthiest men in New Jersey. |
| Metcalf Bowler | Rhode Island | Bowler, 39, was a farmer and merchant born in London. He was later found to be a spy for the British during the Revolutionary War. |
| George Bryan | Pennsylvania | Bryan, an Irish immigrant aged about 34, was a businessman in Philadelphia. He later served on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. |
| John Cruger | New York | Cruger, 55, was the Mayor of New York City. He had a long history of public service. |
| John Dickinson | Pennsylvania | Dickinson, 33, was a lawyer from a rich family. He was active in Pennsylvania and Delaware politics. He later helped write the Articles of Confederation. |
| Eliphalet Dyer | Connecticut | Dyer, 44, was a lawyer and land speculator. He became a judge in Connecticut after independence. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress. |
| Hendrick Fisher | New Jersey | Fisher was a preacher and farmer from Bound Brook. He was in his sixties and had moved from Germany as a child. |
| Christopher Gadsden | South Carolina | Gadsden, 41, was a wealthy Charleston merchant and plantation owner. He was important in South Carolina's Sons of Liberty. |
| William Johnson | Connecticut | Johnson, 38, was a neutral lawyer. He later attended the 1787 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. |
| Leonard Lispenard | New York | Lispenard, 49, was a rich New York City merchant. He later became a leader in the New York Sons of Liberty. |
| Philip Livingston | New York | Livingston, 49, was from the powerful Livingston family. He was a successful businessman and politician. He supported independence during the Revolutionary War. |
| Robert Livingston | New York | Livingston, 47, was a major landowner and a judge in New York. He was a cousin to delegate Philip Livingston. |
| Thomas Lynch | South Carolina | Lynch, 38, was a major South Carolina plantation owner. He supported independence but died in 1776. |
| Thomas McKean | Delaware | McKean, 31, was a judge and lawyer from New Castle. He was a strong supporter of independence. He helped write the Articles of Confederation. |
| John Morton | Pennsylvania | Morton, 41, was a successful farmer and surveyor. He signed the Declaration of Independence. |
| William Murdock | Maryland | Murdock, 55, was a major landowner and sheriff of Prince George's County. |
| Robert Ogden | New Jersey | Ogden, 49, was the speaker of the New Jersey assembly. He was one of two delegates who refused to sign the petitions. |
| James Otis | Massachusetts | Otis, 40, was a lawyer. He is known for popularizing the phrase "no taxation without representation". |
| Oliver Partridge | Massachusetts | Partridge, 53, was a lawyer and legislator. He remained neutral during the Revolutionary War. |
| Thomas Ringgold | Maryland | Ringgold, 50, was a merchant and landowner from Maryland. |
| Caesar Rodney | Delaware | Rodney, 37, was a landowner and politician. He signed the Declaration of Independence. |
| David Rowland | Connecticut | Rowland, 51, was a legislator and judge from Fairfield. |
| Timothy Ruggles | Massachusetts | Ruggles, 54, was a conservative lawyer. He remained loyal to the King during the Revolutionary War. |
| John Rutledge | South Carolina | Rutledge was the youngest delegate at 26. He later served on the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Edward Tilghman | Maryland | Tilghman, 54, was from a powerful Maryland family. He served in public office for many years. |
| Henry Ward | Rhode Island | Ward, 33, was from a wealthy political family. He supported independence. |
| Source (unless otherwise specified): Weslager, pp. 107–108. | ||
Jacob Kollock was also chosen to represent Delaware. He traveled to New York, but there is no record of him attending the official meetings. Joseph Fox, the speaker of the Pennsylvania assembly, was also chosen but did not attend. He needed to stay in Pennsylvania. Samuel Adams is often mistakenly listed as a delegate, but he was not on the official list.
Timothy Ruggles was the chairman (president) of the Stamp Act Congress. John Cotton, who was not a delegate, served as the secretary.
Images for kids
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The building where the Stamp Act Congress met.
