The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
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22 SAR MAGAZINE if any, of its citizens foresaw the consequences of legislation that was being passed by the British Parliament. None could predict the events the Act would unleash and the impact they would have throughout the North American Colonies. News of the happenings in London typically took from two to eight weeks to reach the Colonies. Frederick County did not have any seaports, so news would take several more days to reach the people there. The Colonials were still angry with King and Parliament over the Sugar Act in 1764. In reality, the Sugar Act was just a revision of the Molasses Act of 1733 that had expired in 1763. The objective was to lower the tax on imported molasses in the hope of getting better compliance and thus more revenue. It actually did little other than expand smuggling. In implementing the Sugar Act, Grenville (1712-1770) made it clear he also planned to enact a "stamp tax" in the Colonies similar one being paid by the citizens of Great Britain; all this was an effort to reduce the fnancial burden of protecting the Colonies. Instead, he was about to ignite a frestorm. The Sugar Act was followed shortly thereafter by the Currency Act. Both pieces of legislation enabled Colonists to realize they had no representation in Parliament and, without it, were quickly losing control of their own futures. British subjects, by law, could not be taxed without representation. The Colonists felt they had a sound argument against any taxation other than taxes they levied on themselves. The mantra of "no taxation without representation" soon would become a rallying cry in the North American Colonies. The Stamp Act was passed on March 22, 1765, overwhelmingly in the House of Commons and unanimously by the Lords. Specifcally written for the Colonies, the Stamp Act levied a fee or tax on the paper used for practically every document used to conduct business, legal or commercial. These fees ranged from a penny per sheet of paper for a newspaper up to 10 pounds for an attorney's license. Land grants, court papers, playing cards and dice all bore a tax. The law specifed fees be paid in hard currency. Trade laws had vacuumed much of the hard currency out of the Colonies, leaving in place a system of barter, provincial or proclamation paper money issued by the Colonies, and debt both in America and with their creditors in England. The Act intended for part of the revenues to be spent in the Colonies, thereby keeping some hard currency in circulation. The implementation date was set for Nov. 1, 1765. The Colonial response was going to be felt long before that day arrived. II. RESISTANCE AND REPUDIATION The announcement of the Stamp Act was fnally received in the Maryland Colony toward the beginning of May 1765, when Jonas Green published the full text of the Stamp Act in his Maryland Gazette newspaper. The response was immediate and intense. Besides the new tax burden, a major concern was a provision of the law specifying enforcement through the Admiralty Courts. This infamed the Colonials, who feared the British government was attempting to take away their rights to trial by jury. Committees of Correspondence were formed in each of the Colonies to coordinate the political response, and the Sons of Liberty soon emerged to provide a more intimidating response. But the reaction that surprised both British and Colonial offcials the most was the swelling of protest from ordinary people. Within weeks, a call went out for a Stamp Act Congress to be held in New York City in the fall. Only nine Colonies were able to send delegates. On Oct. 19, 1765, the Congress prepared a list of resolutions to be presented to the King. Wishing to protect their own necks, they declared their loyalty to the Crown in the frst article. This was followed by 13 reasons the Stamp Act was considered a violation of their rights and specifcally requested the Act be repealed. Parallel with the Colonists' political efforts, the strong-arm tactics of the Sons of Liberty were having a more immediate impact. Over the next few months, every Stamp Act fee collector would be forced to resign, and often to fee, for his personal safety. Ships carrying the documents were prevented from unloading the cargo, in part, because the offcials authorized to receive the goods were not available to take possession of the shipments. Zachariah Hood, an Annapolis merchant and the Crown- appointed stamp distributor for Maryland, managed to escape to New York in September ahead of a mob who proceeded to destroy his business in Annapolis. The local Sons of Liberty hunted down Hood and forced him to resign his position on Nov. 28, 1765. By October 1765, the protests in Maryland reached a point where Gov. Horatio Sharpe was becoming concerned about the arrival of the stamped paper. He believed that the populace was not going to allow it to be offoaded, and if it was, they would destroy it. He requested the stamped paper remain on board ship until the situation calmed down. The effective date of the Stamp Act, Nov. 1, 1765, arrived and the stamped paper necessary to conduct almost all business in the Colony was still unavailable. In Frederick County, the reaction to the Stamp Act mirrored what was happening in all the Colonies. In August 1765, the stamp distributor was burned in effgy in Frederick Town. Armed companies of men began to gather in Frederick Town and talked of marching on Annapolis. However, a most unique defance of Parliament and King, triggered by a simple civil suit, was about to take place in this county situated on the Colonial frontier. Twelve judges or magistrates presided over the legal business in Frederick County's districts. The County Court had ordered a man released on bail and the entry to be noted in the court record book. The court clerk, John Darnall, felt obliged to abide by the Stamp Act, Repudiation Day Celebration To commemorate the 250th anniversary of what is now called Repudiation Day, the Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the SAR, joined by both the Frederick and Carrollton Manor chapters of the DAR, will host activities centered on City Hall in Frederick, Md. The location is within yards of where the original events played out 250 years ago. A re-enactment of the parade that carried the coffn containing the now-deceased Stamp Act through the streets of old Frederick Town will take place on Nov. 21, 2015. The clerk of the Frederick County Court, Sandra Dalton, will read the words frst recorded in 1765. This will be followed by speakers telling the story of everyday people doing extraordinary things to protect their God-given rights and liberties.