The Stamp Act Congress, which met in New York City from October 7 to 25, 1765, was the first gathering of representatives from several American colonies to devise a unified protest against British taxation. The congress adopted petitions to the British government spelling out the colonial grievances that would eventually lead to the Revolution while simultaneously laying the groundwork for future cooperation between the colonies. It was the forerunner of the Continental Congresses that would meet nearly a decade later to coordinate resistance to British polices.

The costs of fighting the French and Indian War (1754–1763) had left Great Britain burdened with an immense debt. British officials believed that the American colonists, who had benefited from the war by the expulsion of the French from Canada, and who were being protected from their Native American neighbors by British troops, should pay part of the expenses.

The first measure...