USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Parliament passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765, to pay down a national debt approaching £140, 000, 000 after defeating France in the Seven Years War (1763). A year earlier, Parliament passed the Sugar Act, their first revenue-raising measure. Both taxes promised dire consequences in a post-war economy.

Detailed explanation-2: -Beginnings of Colonial Opposition. American colonists responded to the Sugar Act and the Currency Act with protest. In Massachusetts, participants in a town meeting cried out against taxation without proper representation in Parliament, and suggested some form of united protest throughout the colonies.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Sugar Act affected the colonies by making the post-war economic depression worse, especially for rum distillers in New England. Although the Sugar Act lowered the tax on molasses, it restricted the trade of molasses and forced merchants to buy more expensive molasses from plantations in the British West Indies.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed colonists on virtually every piece of printed paper they used, from playing cards and business licenses to newspapers and legal documents. The Townshend Acts of 1767 went a step further, taxing essentials such as paint, paper, glass, lead and tea.

Detailed explanation-5: -Colonists opposed the Sugar Act of 1764 for two reasons: it was, in their minds, taxation without representation and also because the colonies were already experiencing financial hardship.