1
Oct
1765
Worcester Stamp Act Protests
Worcester, MA· month date
The Story
Worcester residents joined the colony-wide protests against the Stamp Act in 1765, passing town meeting resolves condemning the tax and pledging resistance. The protests were part of the first broad colonial resistance to parliamentary taxation.
Worcester's participation was significant because it demonstrated that opposition extended well beyond the coastal ports directly affected by trade regulations. Inland agricultural communities like Worcester had their own grievances and their own capacity for organized resistance.
Sources for Worcester
American Antiquarian Society
The Heart of the Commonwealth: Society and Political Culture in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1713-1861
Cambridge University Press (John L. Brooke)American Antiquarian Society
Massachusetts State Archives
Worcester County Resolves, August 1774
Massachusetts Provincial CongressNational Park Service
History of Worcester County, Massachusetts (2 vols.)
Lewis Historical Publishing Company (Charles Nutt, ed.)allthingsliberty.com
www.nps.gov
www.westfield.ma.edu
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress: Worcester County Delegates and Their Instructions
New England QuarterlyJournal of the American Revolution
Worcester Historical Museum
WGBH Educational Foundation / MassHumanities