Great Britain enacted the Stamp Act in 1765, closely after the French and Indian War. The Stamp Act imposed taxes that colonists had to pay on all printed articles. These pieces of papers included all types of documents, ranging from publications (newspapers), to legal documents, such as licenses and land documents.
Patrick Henry disagreed strongly with the Stamp Act on his fellow colonialists. He spoke in public against the act and was eventually accused of treason.
He was very persuasive and argued to the House to pass a number of resolutions in opposition to the act. He argued that colonialist should (and did in the past) enjoy the same rights and freedoms as they did when they lived in the British Empire. He believed that local lawmaking and taxation was right and just. People should be taxes by their own representatives, to ensure that the taxes were not overly burdensome.
