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Lot 288: George Washington Military Report

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:2,700.00 USD Estimated At:4,500.00 - 6,500.00 USD
Lot  288: George Washington Military Report
<b>Colonial America</b><hr><b>Col. George Washington Military Report Stamped with the Hated, Red Halfpence Tax Stamp!</b>

<b>December 4, 1758, “New-York Gazette: or, The Weekly Post-Boy” with a 1/2 Pence Tax Stamp on the back page, Very Fine.</b>
Scott RM-9. 15” x 10,” pages 1 and 2 only. Normal age toning, disbound, some marginal tears and chips, but otherwise choice. The Tax Stamp is crisp, bold, and clear. This is one of the finest examples we’ve seen of this rare tax-stamped newspaper. The red stamp appears in the middle of the third column on Page 2 and is one of the reasons for the American Revolution Ñ “Taxation Without Representation.” The tax stamps were placed on documents of all sorts, being constant reminders to the Colonists of the oppressive tax policies of the British Kings. In the past seven years, we’ve only offered one other Tax Stamped newspaper, a complete one that sold for $5,750.00 without any special content! This example has additional value because of the unusual broadside-style presentation on the left front page. Most important, the bold red tax stamp is remarkably placed directly upon a French and Indian War about Colonel Washington fighting the Indians, dated report of 12th of November 1758, as follows:
“That on the 12th Instant, Colonel Washington being out with a Scouting Party, fell in with a Number of the Enemy, about three Miles from our Camp, whom he attacked, killed one, took three Prisoners, an Indian Man and Woman, and one Johnson an Englishman (who is said was carried off by the Indians some time ago from Lancaster County) and obliged the rest to fly:...”
On March 22, 1765, the English Parliament passed the Stamp Act. All printed materials were taxed and required to bear a stamp: newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. The cost of the stamps ranged from 1/2 Penny to Ten Pounds, to be paid in silver; it was to go into effect on November 1, 1765 and on newspapers beginning in 1757.
The American colonists were furious. This was the first direct tax placed on them by the far-away Britain government and they were afraid that this would be just the first of many other taxes. To make matters worse, no one had asked the colonists for their input. King George III felt that he had the right to ask the colonies to bear some of the costs of the French and Indian War, which had been fought between the British and the French from 1754-1763 to decide who would dominate North America. British troops were still stationed in America, and their upkeep was costly; besides, the Americans were the subjects of George III, and he and the British Parliament felt that the colonists should obey and ask no questions.
In the colonies, groups called Sons of Liberty, made up of people who opposed the Stamp Act, were formed in several towns. They burned the stamps and threatened the stamp agents. In Boston, the home of the British-appointed Chief Justice of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, was burned by a mob, and he and his family barely escaped. On October 7, 1765, nine of the thirteen colonies sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City. They passed a resolution to send a petition to King George III and the British Parliament asking them to repeal the Stamp Act. They stated that only the legislatures of the colonies could tax their own residents and that “taxation without representation” violated their civil rights. When the law went into effect on November 1, 1765, the colonists refused to buy the stamps, and business came to a standstill. The road to revolution had begun.