Stamp Act
Give me Liberty, or Give me Dea British Parliamentth' is a speech made by Patrick Henry on March 23rd, 1775, that expressed his views and the views of many other colonists against what they thought was a tyrant. The last lines of Henry's speech, "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" expresses that the colonists were willing to die for their freedom from Britain. Although the major factor that led the colonists to rebel in 1776 was parliamentary taxation, the other two factors were the restriction of civil liberties and the British military measures.
The Parliamentary taxation is an issue that the colonists had to face on constant basis from Britain. The taxation on the American colonies goes back to the Navigation Acts in 1660, but the taxation was not a major issue till the British directly taxed the Colonies with the Stamp Act that was an act simply to raise money for Britain. On November 1st, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed and it not only put a tax on things like newspapers, deeds, wills, and contracts, but it required hard money like sterling silver that was in short supply. This Act was the start of many Acts, like the Declaratory Act in March 1766, the Revenue Act in 1767, and the Coercive Acts that started on June 1st, 1774, that only made the Colonist think of what liberties were actually secure from Britain. The First Continental Congress was held in September, 1774, that had to make a decision as to which rights British Parliament had over them. This Congress also made a list of rights they had and to express that they had no representatives in Parliament so each state had a right to tax its people, not Britain. All these taxations that the British Parliament passed made the colonists think that Britain was just being a tyrant looking for money. This idea was plainly stated by Patrick Henry when he said, "What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased...
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