Many other taxes, acts, and laws were enacted in colonial America before the Stamp Act of 1765. Rebelling such impositions was not uncommon for the colonists, but there was an “otherness” about the Stamp Act that made Americans develop a profound resentment towards Great Britain. In the words of Arthur M. Schlesinger,
"The reason is simple. The act not only involved a new kind of imposition-an internal tax -which enabled the colonists to raise the question of constitutionality as well as of expediency, but it saddled the burden directly upon the backs of the printers, lawyers, and merchants who (along with the clergy) formed the most literate and articulate section of the colonial public." (65)
The very heart of colonial America’s communication circuit was threatened, and the medium of paper was the central material for spreading information. By understanding paper's role within the framework of the Darnton's communication circuit, paper's agency of change raises questions about identity, constitutional rights, propaganda, economics, and politics. In the end, paper matters.
"The reason is simple. The act not only involved a new kind of imposition-an internal tax -which enabled the colonists to raise the question of constitutionality as well as of expediency, but it saddled the burden directly upon the backs of the printers, lawyers, and merchants who (along with the clergy) formed the most literate and articulate section of the colonial public." (65)
The very heart of colonial America’s communication circuit was threatened, and the medium of paper was the central material for spreading information. By understanding paper's role within the framework of the Darnton's communication circuit, paper's agency of change raises questions about identity, constitutional rights, propaganda, economics, and politics. In the end, paper matters.