The Stamp Act

In 1765, the British Parliament passed a new law called the Stamp Act.

It said that almost every piece of paper in the colonies — newspapers, letters, playing cards, even a school certificate — had to have a special stamp on it, and the stamp cost extra money.

The colonists were upset because they had no one speaking for them in Parliament across the ocean.

They came up with a famous saying: 'No taxation without representation,' meaning you can't tax us if we don't get a vote.

The protests grew so loud that Parliament took the law back the very next year, in 1766 — a first big win for the colonies.