Britain passed the Stamp Act in 1765, imposing a direct tax on printed materials in its American colonies.
The act required newspapers, legal documents, magazines, playing cards, and other paper goods to carry an embossed revenue stamp. It was intended to help pay for British military costs after the French and Indian War.
Many colonists objected because they had no elected representatives in the British Parliament. Protests, petitions, nonimportation agreements, and intimidation of stamp distributors spread across the colonies. The Stamp Act Congress also met in New York in 1765 to coordinate opposition.
Parliament repealed the act in 1766, but simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its authority to legislate for the colonies. The controversy helped develop intercolonial resistance that later contributed to the American Revolution.