Sons of Liberty

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Sons of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization of American patriots

Patriot (American Revolution)

Patriots was the name the colonists of the Kingdom of Great Britain Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution called themselves....
which originated in the Thirteen Colonies

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the original thirteen United States of America in 1783....
during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the British Empire and then rejected the British monarchy to become the sovereign United States of America....
. British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
authorities and their supporters known as Loyalists

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during and after the American Revolutionary War. They were often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men by the Patriot , those that supported the American cause....
considered the Sons of Liberty as seditious rebels, referring to them as "Sons of Violence" and "Sons of Iniquity." Patriots attacked the apparatus and symbols of British authority and power such as property of the gentry

Gentry

Gentry generally refers to people of high social class, especially in the past. The word derives from the Latin gentis, meaning a clan or extended family....
, customs officer

Customs officer

A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government....
s, East India Company tea, and as the war approached, vocal supporters of the Crown

The Crown

Throughout the Commonwealth realms, the Crown is an abstract metonymy concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government....
.

he popular imagination (as in the novel Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain, a 1943 children's novel by Esther Forbes, retells in narrative form the final years in Boston prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution....
by Esther Forbes

Esther Forbes

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Origin

In the popular imagination (as in the novel Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain, a 1943 children's novel by Esther Forbes, retells in narrative form the final years in Boston prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution....
by Esther Forbes

Esther Forbes

Esther Forbes was an United States of America novelist and children's writer who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal.Forbes was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, the fifth of six children born to Harriette Merrifield and William Trowbridge Forbes....
), the Sons of Liberty was a formal underground organization with recognized members and leaders. More likely, the name was an underground term for any men resisting new Crown taxes and laws. Newspaper articles, handbills, referred to "True Born Sons of Liberty," "Sons of Freedom," "Liberty Boys", and "Daughters of Liberty

Daughters of Liberty

The Daughters of liberty was a successful American Colonies group that consisted of women who displayed their patriotism by participating in boycotts of British goods following the passage of the Townsend Acts....
." The label let organizers issue anonymous summons to a Liberty Tree

Liberty Tree

The Liberty Tree was a famous elm tree that stood in Boston, near Boston Common, in the days before the American Revolution. The tree was a rallying point for the growing resistance to the rule of England over the Thirteen Colonies....
, "Liberty Pole

Liberty pole

A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap ....
", or other public meeting-places, let Patriot groups in one town communicate with those elsewhere, and let any man or boy imagine himself a Son of Liberty. Their motto became known as, "no taxation without representation." While the officers and leaders of the Sons of Liberty “were drawn almost entirely from the middle and upper ranks of colonial society, they recognized the need to expand their power base to include "the whole of political society, involving all of its social or economic subdivisions." Prominent leaders included Paul Revere

Paul Revere

Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a Patriot in the American Revolution.He was glorified after his death for his role as a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord, and Revere's name and his "midnight ride" are well-known in the United States as a patriotic symbol....
, Thomas Young

Thomas Young (American revolutionary)

Dr. Thomas Young was an American radical during the American Revolutionary War who advocated for independence from Britain. He was a member of the Boston Committee of Correspondence and a participant in the Boston Tea Party....
, Joseph Warren

Joseph Warren

Dr. Joseph Warren was an American doctor and soldier, remembered for playing a leading role in Patriot organizations in Boston, Massachusetts and for his death as a volunteer private soldier while also serving as chief executive of the revolutionary Massachusetts government....
, Alexander McDougall

Alexander McDougall

Alexander McDougall was an American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the American Revolutionary War....
, Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered for his "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he is remembered as one of the most influential advocates of the American Revolution and Republicanism in the United States, especially in his denunciations of c...
, John Hancock

John Hancock

John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as President of the Continental Congress of the Second Continental Congress and was the first Governor of Massachusetts of the Massachusetts....
, Isaac Sears

Isaac Sears

Isaac Sears was an United States merchant, sailor, and political figure who played an important role in the American Revolution.He was born July 1, 1730 at West Brewster, Massachusetts the son of Joshua and Mary Sears....
, John Lamb

John Lamb (general)

John Lamb was an American soldier, politician, and Anti-Federalist organizer....
, James Otis, Marinus Willett

Marinus Willett

Marinus Willett was an United States soldier and political leader from New York City. He was characterized by historian Mark M. Boatner as "one of the truly outstanding American leaders of the Revolution."...
, John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an Politics of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , after being the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States for two terms....
, and his second cousin, Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was a statesman, Political philosophy, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of Republicanism in the United States that shaped the political cul...
, who was a leader of the New England resistance. Silas Downer, a so-called "Forgotten Patriot", spoke as a Sons of Liberty member at one of the famed Liberty Trees in 1766. Members were drawn from across class distinctions, although these borders were less well-defined in colonial America. In order to do this, the Sons of Liberty relied on large public demonstrations to expand their base. They learned early on that controlling such crowds was problematic, although they strived to control "the possible violence of extra-legal gatherings." While the organization professed its loyalty to both local and British established government, possible military action as a defensive measure was always part of their considerations. Throughout the Stamp Act Crisis, the Sons of Liberty professed continued loyalty to the King because they maintained a "fundamental confidence" in the expectation that Parliament would do the right thing and repeal the tax.

History

Groups identifying themselves as Sons of Liberty existed in almost every colony. The organization spread month by month after independent starts in several different colonies. August 1765 was celebrated as the founding of the group in Boston. While Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was a statesman, Political philosophy, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of Republicanism in the United States that shaped the political cul...
was the organizer of the Boston group, this group had formerly existed as the "Loyal Nine" and there is no evidence it was originally a tool of radicals such as Adams and Otis. By November 6, a committee was set up in New York to correspond with other colonies, and in December an alliance was formed between groups in New York and Connecticut. In January, a correspondence link was established between Boston and Manhattan, and by March, Providence had initiated connections with New York, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode Island. Also, by March, Sons of Liberty organizations had been established in New Jersey, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia, and a local group established in North Carolina was attracting interest in South Carolina and Georgia.

North American colonists from Savannah to Halifax resisted the Stamp Act in 1765, through legislative resolutions (starting in Province of Virginia), public demonstrations (starting in Province of Massachusetts), threats, and occasional violence. The success of this popular movement — the Stamp Act became unenforceable and was repealed in May 1766 — emboldened colonial Whigs

Radical Whigs

The Radical Whigs were "a group of British political commentators" associated with the British Whig Party faction who were at the forefront of Radicalism #Origins....
to resist other new taxes with similar measures in the following years. In 1768, in response to the Townshend Act, the Sons of Liberty were able to impose a virtual blockade of British goods.

In 1766, the Sons of Liberty (a.k.a. "Liberty Boys") in the Province of New York

Province of New York

The Province of New York resulted from the capture of the Dutch Republic colony of Provincie New Netherland by the Kingdom of England, and included all of the present U.S....
erected a Liberty Pole

Liberty pole

A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap ....
in New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act. There was a long-running skirmish over these Liberty Poles with the British troops stationed there (the most notable engagement being the Battle of Golden Hill

Battle of Golden Hill

The Battle of Golden Hill was a clash between Kingdom of Great Britain soldiers and British colonists that occurred on January 19 1770 in New York City....
on 19 January 1770). As poles were alternately erected by Patriots and cut down by troops, violent outbreaks over it raged intermittently from 1766 until the Patriots

Patriot (American Revolution)

New York Provincial Congress

The New York Provincial Congress was an organization formed by rebels in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a replacement for the Province of New York Assembly, and as a replacement for the Committee of Sixty....
in April 1775. The last liberty pole was cut down by occupying British troops on 28 October 1776.

The Sons of Liberty were responsible for the burning of HMS Gaspée

Gaspée Affair

The Gasp?e Affair was a significant event in the American Revolution. HMS Gasp?e, a Kingdom of Great Britain revenue schooner that had been vigorously enforcing Navigation Acts, ran aground in shallow water, on June 9, 1772 near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, Rhode Island while chasing the packet...
in 1772.

In December 1773, the Sons of Liberty issued and distributed a declaration in New York City called the Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York which formally stated their opposition to the Tea Act

Tea Act

The Tea Act was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain , passed on May 10, 1773.Previously, the British East India Company had been required to sell its tea exclusively in London on which it paid a duty which averaged two shillings and six pence per pound....
and that anyone who assisted in the execution of the act was "an enemy to the liberties of America" and that "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 to the Tea Act at the Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was an act of direct action protest by the American colonists against the Kingdom of Great Britain in which they destroyed many crates of tea belonging to the British East India Company and dumped it into the Boston Harbor....
. Members of the group, wearing disguises meant to evoke the appearance of Native American Indians, poured several tons of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act.

The Sons of Liberty were widely accused of tarring and feathering.

Early in the American Revolution, the Sons of Liberty generally evolved into or were superseded by more formal groups such as the Committee of Safety

Committee of Safety (American Revolution)

Many Committees of Safety were established throughout Colonial America at the start of the American Revolution. These committees started to appear in the 1760s as means to discuss the concerns of the time, and often consisted of every male adult in the community....
.

After the end of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
, Isaac Sears

Isaac Sears

John Lamb (general)

John Lamb was an American soldier, politician, and Anti-Federalist organizer....
, in New York City, revived the Sons of Liberty. In March 1784, they rallied an enormous crowd which called for the expulsion of any remaining Loyalists from the state starting May 1. 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 this time period, it is said that John Adams and Sam Adams fought in jurisdiction due to the public offholding of public society as a system. In violation of the Treaty of Paris (1783)

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and United States, which had rebelled against British rule starting in 1775....
they called for the confiscation of the property of Loyalists.

Flags

In 1767, the Sons of Liberty adopted a flag

Flag

A flag is a piece of cloth, often flown from a pole or Mast , generally used symbolically for signaling or identification. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium....
called the rebellious stripes flag with nine uneven vertical stripes (five red and four white). It is supposed that nine represented the number of colonies that were to attend the Stamp Act Congress

Stamp Act Congress

The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting in the building that would become Federal Hall in New York City in October of 1765 consisting of delegates from 9 of the 13 colonies that discussed and acted upon the recently passed Stamp Act 1765....
. A flag having thirteen horizontal red and white stripes, used by American merchant ships during the war, was also associated with the Sons of Liberty. While red and white were common colors of the flags, other color combinations, such as green and white, in addition to yellow and white, were used. '

Later societies

The name was also used during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Early in 1865, the Copperhead

Copperheads (politics)

The Copperheads were a vocal group of History of the United States Democratic Party in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederate States of America....
organization, the Knights of the Golden Circle

Knights of the Golden Circle

Early historyThe association was founded by George W. L. Bickley, a Virginia doctor, editor, and "adventurer" who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. He organized the first castle, or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854 and soon took the order to the South, where it was well received....
, was reorganized as the Order of the Sons of Liberty.

The Improved Order of Red Men

Improved Order of Red Men

The Improved Order of Red Men is a List of civic, fraternal, service, and professional organizations established in Baltimore, Maryland in 1834....
, a patriotic fraternal secret society, claims to actually be the Sons of Liberty, having adopted the Native American motif after the Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

Secret Societies at the University of Virginia

Secret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the first class of students in 1825. While the number of societies peaked during the 75 year period between 1875 and 1950, there are still five societies active that are over 100 years old, and several newer societies ....
calls itself the Sons of Liberty.

Bibliography

Baker, Jean, Affairs of Party: The Political Culture of Northern Democrats in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983
Becker, Carl. "Growth of Revolutionary Parties and Methods in New York Province 1765-1774," American Historical Review 1901 7(1): 56-76. Issn: 0002-8762 Fulltext: in Jstor
Champagne, Roger J. "Liberty Boys and Mechanics of New York City, 1764-1774," Labor History 1967 8(2): 115-135. Issn: 0023-656x Fulltext: in Ebsco
Champagne, Roger J. "New York's Radicals and the Coming of Independence," Journal of American History 1964 51(1): 21-40. Issn: 0021-8723 Fulltext: in Jstor
Irvin, Benjamin H. Tar, Feathers, and the Enemies of American Liberties, 1768-1776. New England Quarterly 2003 76(2): 197-238. Issn: 0028-4866 Fulltext: in Jstor
Maier, Pauline. "From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765-1776" (1991 - original 1972) ISBN 0-393-30825-1
Miller, John C., Origins of the American Revolution. (1943)
Morais, Herbert M., "The Sons of Liberty in New York," in Richard B. Morris ed. The Era of the American Revolution (1939) pp 269-89
Schecter, Barnet, The Battle of New York, 2002, ISBN 0802713742
Smith, Page, A New Age Now Begins, 1976, ISBN 0070590974
Unger, Harlow, John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patroit, 2000, ISBN 0785820264

Sons of Liberty

Origin

History

Flags

Later societies

See also

Bibliography

External links