The Stamp Act Riot

The stamp act was a form of tax levied on printed materials, particularly newspapers, magazines and other documents. It was introduced by the British Parliament in 1765 and was meant to increase the revenue collected from the colonies. This move elicited instant and widespread riots from Americans who felt that the new form of tax was not only unwarranted but also illegal. Since the onslaught of the event, many literary materials have been written to highlight the incidences that marked the riots. One of these is the book the Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution.

Written by Edmund S Morgan, the book highlights the events that preceded the riots and the subsequent revolution that was the hallmark of the event. The book takes the reader through the preceding events and the reasons that led to introduction of the tax (Morgan 1995). Morgan remains neutral in his narration and gives a fair and unbiased account of the Stamp Act Riots. He gives a brief history of the colonial period and introduces characters that were in the forefront in the run up to the riots and thereby the revolution. Most of his highlights are factual. The book, therefore, not only touches on the causes of the riots and the aftermath but also on the educative aspect giving a brief account of the history of the nation and the participants (Morgan 1995). One cannot help but admire the choice of Morgan’s words in the narration and the flow of events. These are some of the factors that make the book stand out from the rest. The plot of the story is as captivating as it is addictive.

Peter David Thomas wrote another article that provides an account of the events that took place during the Stamp Act Riot. Entitled British Politics and the Stamp Act Crisis, the article dwells on the history of British colonial rule and governance systems (Thomas 1975). It goes ahead to touch on the circumstances that led to the riot and how the British handled the situation. The article remains insightful and acts as a revelation largely. It limits its discussions to documented truths and does not appear to have any favoritism. In addition, it enables the reader understand not just the events that occurred during the riots but the source of the problem itself (Thomas 1975).