Sons of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization of American patriots which originated in the pre-independence British North American colonies. British authorities and their supporters, known as Loyalists, 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, customs officers, East India Company tea, And tarred and feathered the merchants that bought english goods, and as the war approached, vocal supporters of the Crown.

Origin

In the popular imagination (as in the novel Johnny Tremain by Esther 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." The label let organizers issue anonymous summons to a Liberty Tree, "Liberty Pole", 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."^[1] Prominent leaders included Haym Solomon, Thomas Young, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, Benjamin Edes, Alexander McDougall, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Isaac Sears, John Lamb, James Otis, Marinus Willett, John Adams, and his second cousin, Samuel Adams, 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.^[2] 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.^[1] They learned early on that controlling such crowds was problematic, although they strived to control "the possible violence of extra-legal gatherings."^[3] 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.^[4]

History

1846 artist's impression of the Boston Tea Party

The Bostonian Paying the Excise-Man, 1774 British propaganda print referring to the tarring and feathering of Boston Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm four weeks after the Boston Tea Party. The men also poured hot tea down Malcolm's throat, as can be seen. Note the noose hanging on the Liberty Tree, and the Stamp Act posted upside-down

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.^[5] While Samuel Adams was the organizer of the Boston group,^[6] 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.^[7] 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 New York City, 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.^[8]

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 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.

The burning of the HMS Gaspée

In 1766, the Sons of Liberty (a.k.a. "Liberty Boys") in the Province of New York erected a Liberty Pole in New York City 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 on January 19, 1770). As poles were alternately erected by Patriots and cut down by troops, violent outbreaks over it raged intermittently from 1766 until the Patriots gained control of New York City government in April 1775. The last liberty pole was cut down by occupying British troops on October 28, 1776.^[9]

The Sons of Liberty were responsible for the burning of HMS Gaspée 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 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. 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 sat in the long room above member Benjamin Edes's print shop and planned the famous tea party. During the planning the Sons of Liberty drank from a punch bowl which was later donated to the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston.

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.

After the end of the American Revolutionary War, Isaac Sears along with Marinus Willet and John Lamb, 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 violation of the Treaty of Paris (1783) they called for the confiscation of the property of Loyalists.^[10]

Flags

Nine stripe Sons of Liberty flag

In 1767, the Sons of Liberty adopted a flag 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. A flag having 13 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.^[11][12]

Later societies

The name was also used during the American Civil War.^[13] Early in 1865, the Copperhead organization, the Knights of the Golden Circle, was reorganized as the Order of the Sons of Liberty.

The Improved Order of Red Men, a patriotic fraternal secret society, claims to actually be the Sons of Liberty, having adopted the Native American motif after the Boston Tea Party.

One of the secret societies at the University of Virginia calls itself the Sons of Liberty and daughters of liberty.

See also

• Société des Fils de la Liberté (Quebec)
• Stamp Act Congress
• Boston Tea Party
• Declaratory Act
• United Irishmen
• United Scotsmen
• Patriots (faction) (Netherlands)
• Daughters of Liberty

References

Bibliography

• Baker, Jean (1983), Affairs of Party: The Political Culture of Northern Democrats in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, ISBN 0801415136 
• Becker, Carl (1901), "Growth of Revolutionary Parties and Methods in New York Province 1765-1774", American Historical Review 7 (1): 56–76, ISSN 0002-8762 
• Champagne, Roger J. (1967), "Liberty Boys and Mechanics of New York City, 1764-1774", Labor History 8 (2): 115–135, ISSN 0023-656x 
• Champagne, Roger J. (1964), "New York's Radicals and the Coming of Independence", Journal of American History 51 (1): 21–40, ISSN 0021-8723 
• Irvin, Benjamin H. (2003), "Tar, Feathers, and the Enemies of American Liberties, 1768-1776", New England Quarterly 76 (2): 197–238, ISSN 0028-4866 
• Maier, Pauline (1991) [1972], From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765-1776, New York: W.W. Norton, ISBN 0393308251 
• Miller, John C. (1943), Origins of the American Revolution, Boston: Little-Brown, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=493183 
• Morais, Herbert M. (1939), "The Sons of Liberty in New York", in Morris, Richard B., The Era of the American Revolution, pp. 269–289, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=29142025 
• Schecter, Barnet (2002), The Battle of New York, New York: Walker, ISBN 0802713742 
• Smith, Page (1976), A New Age Now Begins, New York: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0070590974 
• Unger, Harlow (2000), John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patroit, Edison, NJ: Castle Books, ISBN 0785820264 

External links

• The Sons of Liberty, ushistory.org
• The Sons of Liberty, u-s-history.com
• Sons of Liberty: Terrorists, Archiving Early America
• Albany Sons of Liberty Constitution
• Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York, December 15, 1773

v • d • e New York in the American Revolutionary War Pre-war Sons of Liberty - First Liberty Poles erected 1770 Battle of Golden Hill 1775 Capture of Fort Ticonderoga – Invasion of Canada 1776 New York and New Jersey campaign – Battle of Long Island – New York Prison Ships Begin – Landing at Kip's Bay – Battle of Harlem Heights – Great Fire of New York – Execution of Nathan Hale – Battle of Valcour Island – Battle of Pell's Point – Battle of White Plains – Battle of Fort Washington 1777 Meigs Raid – Saratoga campaign – Battle of Ticonderoga – Battle of Fort Anne – Siege of Fort Stanwix – Battle of Oriskany – Battle of Freeman's Farm (1st Saratoga) – Battle of Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga) 1778 Setauket Spy Ring Launched – Battle of Cobleskill – West Point established – Cherry Valley massacre 1779 Battle of Stony Point – Sullivan Expedition – Battle of Newtown 1780 First Purple Heart – André Capture Reveals Traitor Benedict Arnold 1781 HMS Culloden Runs Aground at Montauk – Washington Calls Off Invasion of New York to Support Yorktown 1782 Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh – Newburgh letter 1783 Newburgh Conspiracy – British Evacuate New York – Washington's Farewell to His Officers