Sons Of Liberty Dbq
Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty were groups of colonists that gathered together to protest taxes that were imposed on them by the British government. Secret groups of men got together to protest the taxation and fees that they felt were unfairly imposed on them. One of the events that precipitated this was the Stamp Act passed by the British parliament in 1765. This caused a firestorm of opposition from the colonists, including legislative resolutions in Virginia and public demonstrations in Massachusetts that included threats and bodily harm . The name Sons of Liberty came from a speech given to the British parliament by Colonel Isaac Barre where he referred to the colonials as sons of liberty . The motto of the group was “no taxation
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without representation”.
The groups first formed in Boston and New York City in the summer of 1765. The leaders were mostly middle class artisans, traders, lawyers and local politicians although it is widely believed that several influential men like Samuel Adams , Benjamin Edes, a printer, and John Gill of the Boston Gazette were behind the steady stream of news and opinions that were published in the local papers . The newspapers spread the word throughout the colonies and common folk as well the educated and influential were swayed by the reports and editorials, especially those written by Samuel Adams who published under a pen name for the Boston Gazette. Within a year, there were Sons of Liberty organizations in every colony.
One of the first well known acts of the Sons of Liberty was the hanging of a likeness of Andrew Oliver, the Distributor of Stamps for Massachusetts, in a tree on Newbury Street.
The effigy had a boot with a devil coming out of it. The display was meant to establish an evil connection between Oliver and the Stamp Act . The effigy was beheaded and burned and Oliver’s house ransacked. Many colonists were appalled by the violence but happy that it was deterring the enforcement of the Stamp Act taxes. Many of the stamp officials fled in fear for their lives. Although the Sons of Liberty were inciting riots and violence, they continued to profess loyalty to the King during the Stamp Act crisis because most of them had a “fundamental confidence” in the expectation that Parliament would do the right thing and repeal the tax …show more content…
.
As tensions mounted during the late 1760’s and early 1770’s, chapters of the Sons of Liberty were everywhere.
The intent was to stop the implementation of any of the tax acts imposed on the colonists by Britain. They did this by intimidating British officials and running them out of the cities and towns. The Sons were successful in many situations, with British officials fleeing for their lives. The most famous resistance effort was that of the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773. The Sons put out a formal declaration in New York City which formally stated their opposition to the Tea Act passed by the British parliament. The declaration said that anyone who assisted in helping to enforce 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” . To emphasize their intent, members of the Sons dressed as Indians and boarded English ships in the Boston harbor, seized tons of tea and dumped it into the
water.
The Sons were responsible for resistance movements against British rule in Colonial America on the eve of the Revolution, primarily against what they perceived as unfair taxation and financial limitations imposed upon them by Britain . Through the use of mob rule, tactics of fear, force, intimidation, and violence such as tar and feathering, and the stockpiling of arms, shot, and gun powder, the Sons of Liberty undermined British rule . The Sons of Liberty helped create an atmosphere of nationalism in the colonies.
As the Revolutionary War came to an end, most of the groups of Sons of Liberty disbanded and evolved into more formal and qualified Committees of Safety . These committees eventually became the governing body of all of the colonies as the British were expelled.
The Sons of Liberty were the groups that started the rebellion against British taxation. These groups gave colonists a feeling of unity in America. They gave Americans the courage to fight against taxation without representation. The Sons of Liberty paved the way for America’s fight for independence.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Liberty
http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/sons-of-liberty
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/related/sons/htm
http://wikipedia.org/Committee_of_Safety(American_Revolution)
without representation”.
The groups first formed in Boston and New York City in the summer of 1765. The leaders were mostly middle class artisans, traders, lawyers and local politicians although it is widely believed that several influential men like Samuel Adams , Benjamin Edes, a printer, and John Gill of the Boston Gazette were behind the steady stream of news and opinions that were published in the local papers . The newspapers spread the word throughout the colonies and common folk as well the educated and influential were swayed by the reports and editorials, especially those written by Samuel Adams who published under a pen name for the Boston Gazette. Within a year, there were Sons of Liberty organizations in every colony.
One of the first well known acts of the Sons of Liberty was the hanging of a likeness of Andrew Oliver, the Distributor of Stamps for Massachusetts, in a tree on Newbury Street.
The effigy had a boot with a devil coming out of it. The display was meant to establish an evil connection between Oliver and the Stamp Act . The effigy was beheaded and burned and Oliver’s house ransacked. Many colonists were appalled by the violence but happy that it was deterring the enforcement of the Stamp Act taxes. Many of the stamp officials fled in fear for their lives. Although the Sons of Liberty were inciting riots and violence, they continued to profess loyalty to the King during the Stamp Act crisis because most of them had a “fundamental confidence” in the expectation that Parliament would do the right thing and repeal the tax …show more content…
.
As tensions mounted during the late 1760’s and early 1770’s, chapters of the Sons of Liberty were everywhere.
The intent was to stop the implementation of any of the tax acts imposed on the colonists by Britain. They did this by intimidating British officials and running them out of the cities and towns. The Sons were successful in many situations, with British officials fleeing for their lives. The most famous resistance effort was that of the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773. The Sons put out a formal declaration in New York City which formally stated their opposition to the Tea Act passed by the British parliament. The declaration said that anyone who assisted in helping to enforce 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” . To emphasize their intent, members of the Sons dressed as Indians and boarded English ships in the Boston harbor, seized tons of tea and dumped it into the
water.
The Sons were responsible for resistance movements against British rule in Colonial America on the eve of the Revolution, primarily against what they perceived as unfair taxation and financial limitations imposed upon them by Britain . Through the use of mob rule, tactics of fear, force, intimidation, and violence such as tar and feathering, and the stockpiling of arms, shot, and gun powder, the Sons of Liberty undermined British rule . The Sons of Liberty helped create an atmosphere of nationalism in the colonies.
As the Revolutionary War came to an end, most of the groups of Sons of Liberty disbanded and evolved into more formal and qualified Committees of Safety . These committees eventually became the governing body of all of the colonies as the British were expelled.
The Sons of Liberty were the groups that started the rebellion against British taxation. These groups gave colonists a feeling of unity in America. They gave Americans the courage to fight against taxation without representation. The Sons of Liberty paved the way for America’s fight for independence.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Liberty
http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/sons-of-liberty
http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/related/sons/htm
http://wikipedia.org/Committee_of_Safety(American_Revolution)