Apush Dbq 8

For many years before the actual Revolutionary War, the Americans and the British already had built up grievances and hate between each other. Some may argue with such tension, war was inevitable. In the famous Declaration of Independence, the Americans not only declared their freedom but also included a list of their grievances addressed to King George III. The events leading to these accusations explain the complaints leveled against the King and prove their validity. One of the charges against the Crown stated that they had “excited domestic insurrections amongst us”. This statement most clearly refers to rebel organizations such as the Sons of Liberty. Formed by Sam Adams, the Sons of Liberty was a large organization made up of men from many colonies in response to the British Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty was most like a terrorist organization, promoting their thoughts and ideas through propaganda and violence. Two major “domestic insurrections” caused by the Sons of Liberty were many Stamp Act riots and the Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty, formed to protest the Stamp Act, also contributed to many of the violent riots associated with the Stamp Act. The first of the many acts of the Sons took place in August 1765. They created an effigy of Andrew Oliver, the man that was to be the Distributor of Stamps in Massachusetts. It was hung on a tree in a public square with damage done to it intended to draw a wicked connection between Oliver and the Stamp Act. This display attracted a mob that burned down Oliver’s property and home, displacing his family. Such an act was only a spark to what the Sons were to do later on. In 1773, outraged with the new tax on tea, the Sons of Liberty decided to take matters into their own hands. Under the cover of darkness and dressed like Native Americans, the Sons snuck onto three British ships and dumped 342 crates of tea into the harbor. When the British discovered this, they were outraged. As punishment, the Crown issued