[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15600]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




OBSERVING THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUDIATION OF THE BRITISH STAMP 
                                  ACT

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to honor the actions of ``12 
immortal justices'' of the Frederick County Court in Maryland who 
refused to discharge the British Stamp Act on November 23, 1765. This 
first official act of defiance against the British Government's 
``taxation without representation'' in the Thirteen Original Colonies--
8 years before the Boston Tea Party--helped set the stage for the 
American Revolution that would lead to a free and independent United 
States of America.
  The Stamp Act the British Parliament passed in early 1765 exacted 
revenue from the Colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and 
legal and commercial documents. Colonists in Maryland quickly realized 
that the Stamp Act and other new taxes would severely impede trade in 
the Colonies and hinder their economic growth. Jonas Green, the 
publisher of the Maryland Gazette at the time, used his platform as the 
only news outlet in the colony to stir opposition to the actions of the 
British Parliament among Marylanders. As protests turned to revolts, 
plans to distribute stamped paper were delayed, which made stamped 
paper in Frederick County and Western Maryland unavailable. When the 
county's clerk of the court refused to carry out the business of the 
court without stamped paper, Frederick County's 12 justices responded 
by holding him in contempt and unanimously passing the resolution that 
would come to be known as the Repudiation Act, allowing business to 
continue without the use of stamped paper and effectively nullifying 
the act of Parliament. The text of the Repudiation Act stated: ``that 
all proceedings shall be valid without the use of stamps . . . and 
ordering all sheriffs, clerks, counsellors, and officers of the Court 
to proceed with their several avocations as usual, without delay 
occasionded from the want of stamped paper, parchment or vellum.'' The 
justices took this action at great peril to their livelihood and even 
their lives.
  Since 1894, Repudiation Day has been marked by the Maryland General 
Assembly as an official bank half-holiday in Frederick County and by 
the Frederick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution with 
celebratory events. This year, which marks the 250th anniversary of 
this courageous act of defiance by 12 Maryland justices, will be 
particularly special with a parade, dedication of an interpretive 
plaque, educational presentations, and public display of the original 
court act. In addition, Frederick's Brewer's Alley has collaborated 
with the Sergeant Lawrence Everhart Chapter of the Sons of the American 
Revolution on the release of the 250th Anniversary Commemorative 
``Twelve Immortals Ale'' inspired by the beers of the 18th Century.
  I commend the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the 
American Revolution, Brewer's Alley, the Tourism Council of Frederick 
County, the city of Frederick, and everyone else involved in the effort 
to honor the brave actions of these 12 Marylanders and encourage every 
American to commemorate the 250th anniversary of an event that sparked 
the first flames of liberty in the American Colonies.

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