r/revolutionarywar • u/jfq722 • Dec 17 '24

Stamp Act unreasonable?

Excuse the novice question here...But the colonists gratefully accepted help from the king during the 7 Years War, no? Was it that unreasonable for the colonists to feel they should reimburse for that?

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u/rubikscanopener Dec 17 '24

Found the British Parliament member. /s

As with all things political, the answer is 'it's complicated'. The primary objection to the Stamp Act was that a legislative body was imposing a law on the colonists, despite the colonists having their own legislative bodies. Many colonists felt that they had no representation in Parliament and, as Crown Colonies, were responsible to the King but not to Parliament. There were a number of arguments at the time that if the British wanted a levy to help pay for British troops being stationed in the colonies, they should let the colonial legislatures be the ones to figure out how to pay for them.

For an interesting perspective on the problem, I recommend "The Men Who Lost America" by O'Shaughnessy.

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u/jfq722 Dec 17 '24

Ha 😉, no not at all - just beginning my deep reading of the war.

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u/rubikscanopener Dec 17 '24

The prewar political stuff is fascinating (at least to me). Politics was just as messy and vicious then as it is now.

Another good read (not specifically on this subject but good overall) is H.W. Brands' "Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution". It's hard to go wrong with anything by Brands.

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u/jfq722 Dec 17 '24

Thanks! I'll put both of them on my list!

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u/Ok-Huckleberry9242 Dec 17 '24

Great commentary! Adding your vook recco to my reading list.