There was a fundamental difference between Whigs and Tories before and after the Stamp Act took place, there were also similarities between the two before and after. The main reason the Stamp Act had such a big influence on the two political philosophies is because it was the beginning of a major polarization shift of the two idealisms. Being a moderate was becoming less and less legitimate. At this point, both Whigs and Tories cherished English law and liberties, but they understood that common heritage in very different ways. For the Tories, the king and parliament were the absolute supreme and they were to be understood and submitted to under all circumstances because they would protect the liberties of the people. For Whigs, it was
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Their belief of no taxation without representation was not satisfied by the response that they were being represented by parliament. They aren’t the ones who voted for parliament, so they shouldn’t be the ones taxing the colonies and keeping a standing army present after the French & Indian War had ended two years earlier. The Whigs had a strong belief in their General Assembly, them being the only ones that should be able to directly tax the colonies. “The General Assembly of this colony, together with his Majesty or his substitutes, have in their representatives capacity, the only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and imposts upon the inhabitants of this colony” (M.P.E.A.R. 80). Whigs did a great deal of rioting as well to protest this direct tax that is such a jeopardizing act to the colonies, in their minds. “The stamped Papers have been quietly Landed under the Wing of an armed force; but the same dangerous spirit is still kept up […] exciting them to destroy the Houses Persons & Effects of whoever Sells or Buys a stamp” (M.P.E.A.R. 81). These radical Whigs were so hostile that anywhere the Stamp Act papers went they had to be protected in fear of being destroyed. If they came to find out that anyone was a loyalist, then they would even go to the extreme as to burn that person’s house down. The Whigs of the colonies even went as far as creating a Stamp Act Congress so that parliament and the king would know that there is some method to the madness of rioting in the streets. They declared all of their problems with the act and the only thing that was said was that the assemblies the colonies had created were null, angering the Whigs even
Their belief of no taxation without representation was not satisfied by the response that they were being represented by parliament. They aren’t the ones who voted for parliament, so they shouldn’t be the ones taxing the colonies and keeping a standing army present after the French & Indian War had ended two years earlier. The Whigs had a strong belief in their General Assembly, them being the only ones that should be able to directly tax the colonies. “The General Assembly of this colony, together with his Majesty or his substitutes, have in their representatives capacity, the only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and imposts upon the inhabitants of this colony” (M.P.E.A.R. 80). Whigs did a great deal of rioting as well to protest this direct tax that is such a jeopardizing act to the colonies, in their minds. “The stamped Papers have been quietly Landed under the Wing of an armed force; but the same dangerous spirit is still kept up […] exciting them to destroy the Houses Persons & Effects of whoever Sells or Buys a stamp” (M.P.E.A.R. 81). These radical Whigs were so hostile that anywhere the Stamp Act papers went they had to be protected in fear of being destroyed. If they came to find out that anyone was a loyalist, then they would even go to the extreme as to burn that person’s house down. The Whigs of the colonies even went as far as creating a Stamp Act Congress so that parliament and the king would know that there is some method to the madness of rioting in the streets. They declared all of their problems with the act and the only thing that was said was that the assemblies the colonies had created were null, angering the Whigs even