Sons of Liberty

What was the Sons of Liberty?

The Sons of Liberty was a political group formed by the American patriots of 1765 to protect the rights of the colonists from the new taxes and laws issued by the British Parliament and government. The name, “The Sons of Liberty”, was an underground term for any men resisting new Crown taxes and laws. Sons of Liberty Flag

Who were the Sons of Liberty

The formal, underground organization consisted of some notable members and leaders, such as, Paul Revere, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and James Otis. Most of the leaders came from the Middle class. Their occupations were often lawyers artisans, traders, and local politicians.

Paul Revere, a Son of Liberty

Printing

The Sons of Liberty knew that they had to appeal to the lower class if they wanted to strengthen their numbers. Several members were printers/publishers and printed articles about meetings and demonstrations the Sons of Liberty held, as well as their political beliefs and what they wanted to accomplish. They printed the struggles against the new acts to bring further more awareness of their cause and to vilify the British government officers.

“Sons of Violence”

Office holders identified by the Sons of Liberty that were involved in the Stamp Act injustice, fell out of favor and lost their positions. The Sons of Liberty would decided which candidates to support- those in which would bring them their desired political changes. In return, the British authorities referred to the Sons of Liberty as the “Sons of Violence” or the “Sons of Iniquity”. In many cases, their public meetings. The lower class would often agree with the Sons of Liberty but they wanted more action than words and simple shows of numbers. Another example of their violence was when they burned down the effigy owned by Andrew Oliver, a local stamp distributor. When he refused to resign, they burned down his office building. Their violent actions made some of the stamp distributors resign out of fear. They also were responsible for the burning of the HMS Gaspee, a British revenue schooner. The Sons of Liberty were believed to do these things to get the lower class excited about getting actively involved about rebelling against the authorities.

The Burning of the HMS Gaspee by the Sons of Liberty

HMS Gaspee Affair

Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York

In December 1773, The Sons of Liberty issued a declaration in New York called the Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York, stating that anyone that assisted in the execution of the Tea Act was “an enemy to the liberties of America” and “whoever shall transgress any of these resolutions, we will not deal with, or employ, or have any connection with him". The Sons of Liberty took direct action to enforce their opposition against the Tea Act at the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was the event that the Sons of Liberty are best known for. Members of the group dressed up as Native American Indians. They boarded British ships delivering taxed tea to the colonies and destroyed the tea by dumping it into the Boston Harbor. This was an act of resistance against the Tea Act.

After the American Revolutionary War…

After the American Revolutionary War, Isaac Sears, Marinus Willet, and John Lamb revived the Sons of Liberty. In 1784, they rallied n enormous crowd for expulsion for and remaining Loyalists. The Sons of Liberty were able to gain enough seats in the New York assembly elections of December 1784 to have passed a set of punitive laws against Loyalists. In violation of the Treaty of Paris, they called for confiscation of the property of all Loyalists. After the Revolutionary War the Sons of Liberty were looked upon as patriots and great leaders among the new country.

Revolutionary War collage

Credits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rev_collage.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_liberty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_tea_party

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sons_of_Liberty_flags.png

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Revere_1768.jpg