The American Revolution for Kids and Teachers - Repeal of the Stamp Act, The Declaratory Act Illustration

Road to Revolution for Kids
1766 - Repeal of the Stamp Act
& The Declaratory Act

For Kids: Repeal of the Stamp Act: Surprised by the reaction of the colonists, Parliament decided the Stamp Act was not going to work as well as they had hoped. They repealed the law.

But that left Parliament with the same problem. They still had to find a way to raise money. They still felt that money should come from the American colonies, not from taxpayers in Great Britain. Parliament's next step was a law called the Declaratory Act.

The Declaratory Act: This law said Parliament had the right to govern and tax the colonies.

This law was enacted partly to save face, but mostly to clearly state the position of the British crown - the crown was the real government in the colonies, and that all colonists had to obey British laws.

Colonial leaders were furious. This was just what they had feared. The talk about town by the colonists was, "What next?"

What came next:
The Townshend Acts