Until the British Parliament imposed the Stamp Act on the American colonies, colonists in America were proud to be British. There was very little reason to believe that the colonies would rebel and declare their independence from Great Britain. Although the American colonists were weary and suspicious of the British aristocracy and their negative views towards the colonists, this had not fully revealed itself until news of the Stamp Act of 1765 reached America's shores. The imposition of the Stamp Act changed this general attitude in the colonies and would become the first domino to fall on the road to independence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Unlike Britain, which was entirely ruled by aristocracy, many of the wealthy landowners, legislators, and colonial elites in the colonies were not aristocrats. Many of the founding fathers came from humble beginnings. Benjamin Franklin was the son of a candle maker, Thomas Jefferson was the son of a surveyor who had received no formal education, and Alexander Hamilton was an orphan born in the British West Indies. No matter how much wealth and power some colonists amassed, Britain's aristocrats would always see them as commoners and never as equals. Despite this, the colonists in America considered themselves to be British people and were proud of it. As a British colony, the defense and administration of the American colonies were Great Britain's responsibility. This came at a huge cost as British ships took an average of six weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. After the Seven Years' War and the French and Indian War, many British troops remained stationed in the American colonies. The British Parliament decided to impose a Stamp Act which required many printed materials to be printed on stamped paper, which resulted in a tax being paid, which would help pay for troops stationed in the Americas. Once news of the Stamp Act reached the colonies, it was immediately denounced by the colonists. George Washington, then a delegate from Virginia, called the Stamp Act a “reckless measure, the House having no right to put its hands in our pockets without our consent.” For over a century, the American colonies, for the most part, had governed themselves. The amount of the tax itself was not the most serious crime in the eyes of the colonists, but rather the unilateral decision made by the British Parliament to impose the tax on the colonies without the consent of the colonies. There was debate in the colonies about whether or not they should allow the British Parliament to impose a tax on them. If the colonies allowed the English to tax them on printed materials, what other things could they tax the colonists on? The colonies had no representation in the British Parliament and found this decision extraordinarily disrespectful to the sovereignty of the colonies, which had largely governed and taxed themselves for over a century. This decision only confirmed the suspicions of the colonists who believed that the aristocracy of Great Britain viewed the American colonists as inferior subjects who existed only by decree of Great Britain. Please note: this is just an example. Request a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay While the American colonists had taken great pride in being British, the elites of Great Britain would never see them as equals. This separation was highlighted with the imposition of the Stamp Act of.