The Currency Act of 1764: The British Law That Started the Revolution

Before the Stamp Act, before the Tea Party, there was the Currency Act of 1764. This is the most critical law you were never taught in history class.

For decades, the American colonies thrived by printing their own money, "colonial scrip", backed by the value of their own land. It was the engine of their prosperity.

But in 1764, British creditors and Parliament outlawed this money, making it illegal. They didn't just tax the colonies; they stole their entire medium of exchange, plunging the colonies into a crippling depression.