The Assembly, of the colony of Pennsylvania, passes ten resolutions against the Stamp Act, numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 of which state:
- That the Assemblies of this Province have … whenever Requisitions have been made by his Majesty, for carrying on military Operations, for the Defence of America, most chearfully [sic] and liberally contributed their full Proportion of Men and Money for those Services.
- That the inhabitants of this Province are entitled to all the Liberties, Rights and Privileges of his Majesty’s Subjects in Great-Britain, or elsewhere, and that the Constitution of Government in this Province is founded on the natural Rights of Mankind, and the noble Principles of English Liberty, and therefore is, or ought to be, perfectly free.
- That it is the inherent Birth-right, and indubitable Privilege, of every British Subject, to be taxed only by his own Consent, or that of his legal Representatives, in Conjunction with his Majesty, or his Substitutes.
- That the only legal Representatives of the Inhabitants of this Province are the Persons they annually elect to serve as Members of Assembly.
- Resolved, therefore, … That the Taxation of the People of this Province by any other Persons whatsoever than such their Representatives in Assembly, is unconstitutional, and subversive of their most valuable Rights.
- That this House think it their Duty thus firmly to assert … their inherent Rights, that their Posterity may learn and know, that it was not with their Consent and Acquiescence, that any Taxes should be levied on them by any Persons but their own Representatives. …
[added 11/2/2024]
Subsequent Events:
Authority:
English Bill of Rights, Number 5
ccc-2point0.com/english-bill-of-rights
References:
Avalon Project – Resolves of the Pennsylvania Assembly on the Stamp Act, September 21, 1765
avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/penn_assembly_1765.asp