The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765.
The law required many printed materials in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. Covered items included legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, licenses, and playing cards. Unlike earlier duties on imported goods, the Stamp Act imposed a direct internal tax on colonial activities and publications.
Colonists objected that Parliament was taxing them without elected colonial representatives. Protest groups such as the Sons of Liberty organized demonstrations, pressured stamp distributors to resign, and sometimes destroyed property. Delegates from nine colonies met at the Stamp Act Congress in New York in October 1765 to issue a petition and declaration of rights.
Parliament repealed the act in 1766, but it simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its authority to legislate for the colonies. The repeal therefore did not settle the constitutional dispute. Conflict over taxation, representation, and parliamentary power continued through the Townshend Acts, the Tea Act, and the events leading to war.