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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

The Heart of the Commonwealth: Society and Political Culture in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1713-1861
Cambridge University Press (John L. Brooke)
Worcester County Resolves, August 1774
Massachusetts Provincial Congress
History of Worcester County, Massachusetts (2 vols.)
Lewis Historical Publishing Company (Charles Nutt, ed.)
The Massachusetts Provincial Congress: Worcester County Delegates and Their Instructions
New England Quarterly
WGBH Educational Foundation / MassHumanities