Stamp Act Repealed: Victory for American Colonists

The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766, just one year after imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies. The act had required colonists to purchase embossed revenue stamps for legal documents, newspapers, playing cards, and dozens of other paper goods. The reaction was explosive: mobs attacked stamp distributors, merchants organized boycotts of British goods, and delegates from nine colonies convened the Stamp Act Congress in New York. The boycotts hurt British merchants, who lobbied Parliament furiously for repeal. Benjamin Franklin testified before the House of Commons, warning that enforcement would require military occupation. Parliament repealed the tax but simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its right to legislate for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.' The colonists celebrated the repeal but ignored the Declaratory Act, believing they had established the principle that Parliament could not tax them without representation. They were wrong: Parliament would try again with the Townshend Acts the following year.