What the Stamp Act was
So the Parliament of England passed a law that all licenses to marry, all deeds to property, licenses to trade, newspapers, almanacs, and other pamphlets had to be printed on stamped paper. This paper ranged in value from a few cents to many dollars.
Leading men in every one of the thirteen colonies spoke and wrote against the Stamp Act. Of all the men who did so, Patrick Henry, of Virginia, was the most eloquent and fiery. He had been elected by the people of his county to go up to Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, to help make the laws. There were many able men in that old House of Burgesses, but none of them wished to take the lead in opposing the king's plan of a stamp tax.
Patrick Henry in the House of Burgesses
One day young Henry, although a new member, snatched a blank leaf from a law book and wrote down a set of resolutions declaring that only the Virginia Assembly could tax Virginians, and that any one who asserted the contrary was an enemy of the colony.
Patrick Henry's famous speech
He backed up these resolutions with a speech that stirred the Burgesses. He was so fiery and bold that men almost held their breath while they listened to the young orator. He closed by declaring that George III was acting like a tyrant, and that "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third—" "Treason! treason!" shouted the Speaker of the House. Waiting a moment till the noise ceased, the orator, with a calm and steady voice, added, "may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."
Henry's resolutions were passed, and were printed in almost every newspaper in the colonies. They made the people more determined than ever not to buy stamped paper.
Who was this young lawyer that stirred these dignified Virginia gentlemen in powdered hair, knee breeches, and silver buckles?
Patrick as a boy