The American colonist's opposition to the Stamp Act contributed substantially to the rise of American nationalist sentiment, and the conflict between the colonists and the British government over the Stamp Act was often considered one of the chief immediate causes of the American Revolution.
The Constitution.
The British Constitution accorded Englishmen the right of being taxed only by representatives of their own choosing. The colonist had no such representation in Parliament; therefore the Stamp Act was unconstitutional.
With this act, the colonists' anger reached the boiling point. The frustration was to take the form of overt rebellion. The previous Molasses Act, Navigation Acts, and the Sugar Act suddenly were seen as an ominous prelude to this final below, the period from the signing of the treaty ending the French and Indian War in 1763 to the first continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Effect.
The act took effect in November 1765. Americans who did not elect members of Parliament, opposed the act not only because of their inability to pay the tax, but also because it violated the newly enunciated principle of "No taxation without representation." This measures aroused the grievances of the colonists, and concerted action in response paved the way for the American Revolution.
Resistance.
On June 6 , 1765, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, on the motion of James Otis, resolved to propose an intercolonial meeting to resist the Stamp Act. On June 8, it sent a circular letter to the assemblies of the other colonies inviting them to meet at New York the following October to consider of a general and United, dutiful, loyal and humble representation to His Majesty and the Parliament; and to implore relief.
Patrick Henry.
In May, Patrick Henry presents seven resolutions to the House of Burgesses that basically said "only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents.