Who authored the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions?

• A. He led the Boston Tea Party
• B. He authored the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions
• C. He proposed independence
• D. He defended the Stamp Act

Answer: (B)

Patrick Henry, a rising Virginia lawyer and politician, authored the Virginia Stamp Act Resolves in 1765. He argued that Parliament had no right to tax Virginians because they were not represented there, and that only Virginia’s own elected assembly could levy taxes on its people. This insistence on taxation with representation helped crystallize a broader colonial stance against British authority and set the stage for future steps toward unity and independence. The other options describe actions or positions that don’t fit: the Boston Tea Party was led by different leaders; proposing independence came later as a broader goal, not the specific authoring of these resolves; and defending the Stamp Act would oppose Henry’s emphatic critique of it.