1.)    The reason that the British believed it was necessary to tax the colonists was because of two things. After the French and Indian war, Britain was left with a gigantic debt and felt that it was part of the colonists duty to aid in that way. The second reason was that since the British had gained more territory and had a growing empire and they felt that control was a necessity. If they didn’t have the ultimate authority then the American people would just do what they wanted.

2.)    The first thing that the British Parliament put into place that set the colonists on edge was that of the Writs of Assistance. This made it legal for the British Parliament to confiscate any illegally transported goods. The colonists felt that this was violating their English Constitutional Protections.

3.)    The colonists resisted by using petitions to the British Parliament and issued pamphlets about how unconstitutional the taxes were. They also employed the tactic of boycotting. They would protest the use of the British items that were taxed in hopes that Britain would stop with the unfair taxing. They called to crowds to join the call as well.

4.)    The Stamp Act was an act that taxed paper goods in the colonies. They taxed anything that they could involving the paper. All legal document and licenses, all deeds and advertisements. All letters, notes, or other instruments for righting. They taxed all printed goods and things used for writing.

5.)    According to Franklin, the American people resisted to the taxes laid by the British Parliament because they never knew about it. Britain laid the taxes and the Americans never knew because they were not represented in parliament. The colonists had no problem paying the external taxes because they were optional. If they didn’t want to pay the high prices they didn’t have to buy the product. But with the internal taxes, the Americans had no choice. They couldn’t get married or have a will or own property without paying those taxes. There was no way around them.

6.)    Franklin’s overall message to the British Parliament is that they are being unfair. He says that you cannot make the American people do what you want them to do. If the act is not repealed then American’s will begin to resent Britain and much will happen.

7.)    North Carolina Gazette, 20 November 1765 is the source.

8.)    The first incident occurred on Saturday December 19^th. In this incident consisted of the town’s people creating an effigy and hanging it by the court house for some time. When it had hung up for a while they burned it and then put it into a coffin while drinking a toast. The reason behind the effigy was that a man was in favor of the stamp act. The second incident was Thursday December 31^st. In this incident the people made and effigy of Liberty and put it into a coffin. They had a funeral procession throughout the town. Then before they buried it, they checked the effigy’s pulse. They found one and celebrated that Liberty was still alive. Another incident occurred on Saturday the 16^thand consisted of the town’s people creating an effigy and hanging, burning, and burying it. Another incident happened on Wednesday.

9.)    The Stamp Act affected everyday people in the way that it made their day to day lives very difficult. Every thing that they would use in their daily lives would be taxed which is really inconvenient. It wasn’t fair that they would be taxed in such a way and it caused some major problems for the early American people.

10.)   Peter Oliver is the author of this article. His intended audience was the British. He speaks in a negative way of the colonists and how they feel about the Stamp act. He calls them Anarchists and discusses that they are wrong.

11.)   An instance that the author relates is that a mob broke into the Office of the Register of Admiralty and caused significant damage to property and such. He also, discusses how a man who was appointed Stampmaster was attacked.

12.)   The author of this articles perspective was biased against those who opposed the Stamp Act. He viewed their actions in a negative manner and favored the British side of the argument.

13.)    The targeted audience for the resolutions and boycotts would be England itself. They state many times that they feel that paying the Stamp Act is not necessary for them since they don’t live in England.

14.)   The general overview of what was said was that the colonies were founded upon the English idea of freedom and nothing more so that they are entitled to be free.

15.)    This is technically like a text book in the way that it gives and overview. The gist of the history of the American Revolution and so therefore it is an example of because it provides a historians interpretation of this event in time.

16.)    At the same time, though, it has a few characteristics of a primary source in the way that it offers a somewhat firsthand account of The American Revolution because the author lived during the time that it happened.

I learned so much from this project. I never fully looked into the facts behind the Stamp Act. What I learned is that not everyone opposed it. Some people saw that Stamp Act as necessary to America and the rightful act towards England. Also, the protests against the act were more involved that I had originally believed them to be. The act affected the lives of the early colonists in so many ways and it wasn’t really fair to the people. Looking back, had the colonists dealt with what they had been put through, we might still be a part of England. Reading the sources that I read helped broaden my perspective in so many ways. For one, people of that time all had different views on the Stamp Act which history books and schools don’t usually emphasize in your early schooling. I really enjoyed doing this project and learning about different aspects of history.