Stamp Act Enforcement in the Mid-Atlantic

Background. The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765, imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed materials be produced on stamped paper from London bearing an embossed revenue stamp. Parliament passed it on 22 March 1765 with an effective date of 1 November 1765.

Enforcement Sentiment and Colonial Resistance. As background to the Mid-Atlantic enforcement narrative, colonial resistance to the act was widespread across the colonies: protests and demonstrations, often initiated by the Sons of Liberty, increased, and all stamp tax distributors were soon intimidated into resigning their commissions, so the tax was never effectively collected. In Britain, opinion divided: some wanted the act strictly enforced over colonial resistance, wary of the precedent that backing down would set, while others, feeling the economic effects of reduced trade with America, began lobbying for repeal. These are colony-wide and British developments rather than events documented at Wilmington or Philadelphia.

Repeal and the Declaratory Act. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on 18 March 1766 as a matter of expedience, but simultaneously affirmed its power to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever" by passing the Declaratory Act 1766. Henry Seymour Conway introduced the Declaratory Act to address both the constitutional and economic issues, admitting the inexpediency of attempting to enforce the Stamp Act.