The Stamp Act Of 1764 Commemorations

The Professional Stamp Experts and the American Stamp Dealers Association sponsored a little souvenir sheet to accompany the Postal Service emission of the Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. The title of the sheet is The First Stamp of the United States, which, of course, it is not. Both the Massachusetts and New York issues preceded the British Americas (The Stamp Act stamps). In addition it calls it the Act of 1764. Alas, it was passed in 1765.

Ironies abound. Did the Professional Stamp Experts approve the text of the little souvenir? If so, they are not very expert on this subject. They were wrong on at least two counts.

The purpose of the Massachusetts and New York issues was to pay the militia patrolling the frontier from attack of the French and the Indians. The purpose of the Stamp Act of 1764 was to pay for British Regulars to safeguard the frontiers against attack. Sounds like the same purpose as the Massachusetts and New York issues. But since the Stamp Act was passed by Parliament, the colonials rallied behind the slogan "taxation without representation." Never mind that a generation before, the rural population in England rallied against the taxation of alcohol because they were convinced that the taxes collected would be spent in Manchester, Birmingham, and London, the very locations that had the most representatives in Parliament. Such thinking did not die with the Stamp Act. A generation later the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790's used the same rationale to oppose a tax on domestically produced spirits. And I suppose that same rationale is still being used in the rural areas of the present day United States. Slogans die slowly!

That is pretty grievously bad.

And its sponsored by many organizations. This is why the concept of peer review exists, or should exist for any publication.

It looks like they got the year of the 2016 stamp show correct. Assuming it was that show...

It would appear that it was the product of one individual, who surprised one of the organizations when it was delivered at New York 2016 International stamp show.

Actually, the Stamp Act was the first of several attempts to force the colonies to pay for the French-Indian Wars, as they were called over here. Britain could not raise taxes any higher at home and the American colonists did themselves in trying to emulate the British by wearing the latest fashions. When the King's tax purveyors saw the way common merchants were dressed in cities like Boston, Philadelphia and New York, they quickly told the King the colonies had to be wealthy. What we know know is that many of these merchants and members of upper society were literally wearing a great deal of their wealth, all in an effort to be accepted by Britain as truly British subjects.

The rest, as they say, is history...