Evangelical Protestants stirred by the religious passions of the Great Awakening joined mobs opposing the Stamp Act because they resented the arrogance of British military officers and the corruption of royal bureaucrats.
They feared that stricter customs enforcement would wipe out French molasses smuggling. (Some merchants, such as John Hancock, made a fortune smuggling molasses out of the French West Indies.)
Whereas the Sugar Act only taxed foreign goods, the Stamp Act taxed items within the colony. Previously, only the colonial assembly was responsible for internal assembly.
To show the American settlers that the British Parliament had the right to tax them and that they were stronger than they were. It was intended to give the settlers legislative power and was a response to the failure of the Stamp Act.
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