Stamp Act & Common Sense

Aim: How did the Stamp Act and Thomas Paine's Common Sense galvanize colonial opposition to British rule?

Part 1: Do Now

Imagine a political cartoon from the 1760s shows a skull with a crossbones, but instead of bones, it has a stamp. A slogan reads, "The fatal Stamp."

=> What do you think the artist's message is? What is the main idea or feeling that the cartoon conveys?

Part 2: The Stamp Act of 1765 (Primary Source)

Read the following excerpt from the Stamp Act.

For defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the said colonies, and for the better securing of them from hostile attacks, be it enacted, That from and after the first day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, there shall be raised, levied, and paid unto his Majesty, his heirs and successors, in the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty, for every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written or printed, any declaration, plea, or other legal proceeding in any court of law within the said colonies; and for every license, certificate, or testimonial of any kind whatsoever; and for every pamphlet and newspaper printed upon a single sheet of paper, a stamp duty of one penny.

Questions:

1. What is the stated purpose of this tax?

2. What types of items are being taxed? Why do you think Parliament chose to tax these specific items?

3. How do you think this tax would have impacted the daily lives of colonists, from lawyers to newspaper printers?

Part 3: Text Rendering Protocol

Read the following excerpt from Thomas Paine's Common Sense. As you read, think about its purpose. Your group will be using the Text Rendering Protocol.

Instructions:

1. Read the excerpt silently to yourself.

2. After you have read, choose one word, one phrase, and one sentence that you feel is the most significant or powerful.

3. In your small group, share your choices and explain why you chose them.

Excerpt from Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776, Primary Source)

I have heard it said, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this argument. We may as well assert, that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true; for I am willing to allow the child to have been a suckling, but then I am to show that its connection with Britain has been a chain, an impediment to its growth. America is a continent, governed by an island. In no instance hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet. England belongs to Europe, and is not a mother country to America. This is an entirely new world, and its inhabitants must now be free.

Part 4: Exit Ticket

In at least 3 sentences, explain the main arguments Thomas Paine made in Common Sense to convince colonists to fight for independence. Use specific examples from our reading to explain his argument and its persuasive purpose.