The Stamp Act imposed a direct tax on printed materials in Britain's American colonies in 1765.
Parliament passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765, requiring many newspapers, legal documents, licenses, pamphlets, and other paper items to carry an official tax stamp. It was the first direct internal tax imposed by Parliament on the colonies.
The measure provoked intense opposition because colonists argued that they could not be taxed by a legislature in which they had no elected representatives. Protesters used the slogan “No taxation without representation,” and organized resistance through groups such as the Sons of Liberty.
Parliament repealed the act in 1766, but it simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its authority to legislate for the colonies. The controversy helped establish arguments and networks that later supported the American Revolution.