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Teacher Resources
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: The Repeal, Or The Funeral Of Miss Ame-Stamp
Maker: Benjamin Wilson
Date: March 18, 1766
One of the most famous and popular of the political satires commenting on
the Stamp Act, this print actually celebrates the end of the tax. An instant
success, the print became one of the most copied satirical prints of the period.
The print depicts a funeral procession composed of supporters
of the act carrying a small coffin containing the remains of the
bill toward an open vault. The vault has been prepared for the
burial of all unjust acts that would alienate Englishmen. Leading
the procession and preparing to deliver the funeral eulogy is
the Reverend W. Scott, who is followed by the mourners: Grenville
(carrying the coffin), Bute, Bedford, and Temple, some of the
same Englishmen who were responsible for passing the act.
By setting the action on a dock, Wilson is able to show the large
unshipped cargoes destined for America that accumulated during
the period when the act was in force. Ships labeled "Conway,"
"Rockingham," and "Grafton" that represent
the Parliamentary leaders responsible for the repeal of the bill
now stand ready to carry the goods to America. Stamps just returned
from America are also stacked on the wharf.
Source: Joan D. Dolmetsch, Rebellion and Reconciliation: Satirical
Prints on the Revolution at Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va.,
1976), pp. 38-39.
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Historic Triangle