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Stairwell Room: Revolutionary Annapolis Wall

The Fatal Stamp

Maryland Gazette, October 10, 1765
Medium: Ink on paper
MSA SC 2731


The Fatal Stamp   

The Fatal Stamp

The Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765 was the first direct tax on the American colonists. It required the use of stamped paper produced in Britain for every legal and trade document, newspapers, and even dice. The revenue gained from this tax would help pay for the British troops defending the American colonies.

The colonists opposed the act on the grounds of taxation without representation. Some refused to pay it, while others threatened harm to the stamp distributors.
Jonas Green, printer of the Maryland Gazette, protested the act by publishing the death's head stamp in place of the required stamps on the paper.





 
 

 
 



KEy Images on the
Wall

Samuel Chase
Burning of the Peggy Stewart
Plan of the Harbour and City of Annapolis
The Honorable Thomas Stone
A Front View of the State House...
Charles Carroll of Carrollton

William Paca

Lord Ligonier Advertisement

Charles Calvert and Slave

The Fatal Stamp


Key Documents on the Wall

The Deputy Commissary's Guide...

Exhibits in the Stairwell Room

John Shaw # 1 Des