The Stamp Act

What was the cause of the British government imposing new taxes on its North American colonists?

• The British needed to raise funds to pay back the money it had borrowed to fight the French and Indian War.

• The North American colonists had failed to pay taxes in the past and the British wanted to punish them.

• The British wanted to prove they were more powerful than the people in their North American colonies.

• The cost of stamps was rising in Britain, and the British needed to make back the money it was spending on stamps.

The colonists were upset about the Stamp Act because of the way the British government imposed the tax. What evidence from the text supports this conclusion?

• "When the colonists became upset about the Stamp Act, they expressed their unhappiness in various ways. They held protest meetings. They wrote pamphlets."

• "The colonists agreed that there were bills that had to be paid, and they wanted to contribute. But they also wanted some say in how the money was raised."

• "Colonists were required to buy stamps when they bought printed items such as newspapers, pamphlets, even playing cards... Many people were upset about the Stamp Act."

• "Colonists began protesting the tax. Tensions between colonists and the British grew... and they would only grow more with time.

Based on the text, what was one thing that was very important to colonists during the time of the Stamp Act?

• not having to pay money for past wars

• finding reasons to fight with the British

• saving as much money as possible

• having a say in how they were ruled.

What is the main idea of this text?

• The Stamp Act that the British placed on American colonists upset the colonists because they had no say in the decision.

• Although the British won the French and Indian War, the costs of the war were too much for them to handle without raising taxes.

• Before the Stamp Act, colonists in America were able to raise their own taxes and discuss their own laws.

• When colonists became upset with the British, they expressed their unhappiness through protests, pamphlets, and petitions.

What was the Stamp Act?

• a tax on mailed letter

• a tax on printed materials

• a tax on art materials

• a tax on travel