The Stamp Act and the Start of Resistance

In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to raise revenue after the French and Indian War. The act required Americans to pay a tax on all paper and parchment documents, including newspapers, almanacs, and even playing cards. Many Americans, including George Washington, reacted with anger. They considered it to be “taxation without representation.”

Parliament repealed the act in 1766, but Britain continued to assert control over the colonies. George III gradually hardened in his view that he must control his American colonies to protect the integrity of the British Empire. Meanwhile, George Washington found a prominent place for himself in the thick of the American resistance.