(upbeat music) - [Narrator] How did attacks spark a revolution?

When you hear stamp, you're probably imagining this, but the Stamp Act was not about mail.

In 1765, the Stamp Act was British Parliament's first direct tax on the colonies to raise funds for England.

Suddenly, American publications were required to be printed on stamped paper, providing British agents the opportunity to censor content too.

The British taxed everything from legal documents to playing cards, even newspapers and almanacs, things common people needed.

"Common Sense" by Thomas Payne?

Taxed or it would've been if the colonist hadn't fought back.

Protests were organized and intimidation tactics executed until Boston stamp man Andrew Oliver quit.

Once word spread of this violence, threats and protest broke out in the colonies leading to the idea of no taxation without representation, which would grow into the backbone of the Revolutionary War 10 years later.