The Colonial Virginia Press and the Stamp Act

Abstract

The Stamp Act, which was imposed on the American colonies by the British government in 1765, was an essential preface to the American Revolution. Historians have observed that it brought about an important transition for colonial printers, politicizing them and turning them into influential purveyors of propaganda. The act had a critical impact on print culture in Virginia, which was the largest of the colonies and one that was crucial to the formation of a new nation. This study helps to clarify an historical debate regarding the colonial printers’ supposed unanimous opposition to the tax. Focusing on the print-related cultural shifts of this period, it concludes that a newly critical Virginia press and an accompanying broadening civic discourse led to a new regard for freedom of the press.