Start the Revolution: The Stamp Act Crisis

The Stamp Act and its protests in 1765 were the first time that the American colonies came together and put up a united front against British rule. The protest methods and organizations developed here would be used against the many other acts to come, but the Stamp Act was the first. More importantly, representatives from nine colonies came together as a Stamp Act Congress where they created a "Declaration of Rights" that served as an early forerunner of the Declaration of Independence, written over a decade later.

During this event in Moody Memorial Library, the Book Arts & Letterpress team will have already printed a reproduction of the Stamp Act on cotton rag paper, using printing techniques from the 1760s, and students will get to emboss with the imperial stamp (reproduced by the Makerspace) that colonists were required to purchase and place on all printed paper.

The History Department will staff a table with a page of the "Stamp Act Resolves" that students will get to stamp with the "protest stamp" that colonists created to use instead and to show their displeasure with this act. By showcasing how the Stamp Act actually worked, participants will learn about this first act of colonial defiance and take the first steps towards revolution.