Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty,
secret organizations formed in the American colonies in protest against the Stamp ActStamp Act,1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other papers
..... Click the link for more information. (1765). They took their name from a phrase used by Isaac Barré in a speech against the Stamp Act in Parliament, and were organized by merchants, businessmen, lawyers, journalists, and others who would be most affected by the Stamp Act. The leaders included John Lamb and Alexander McDougall in New York, and Samuel Adams and James Otis in New England. The societies kept in touch with each other through committees of correspondence, supported the nonimportation agreement, forced the resignation of stamp distributors, and incited destruction of stamped paper and violence against British officials. They participated in calling the Continental Congress of 1774. In the Civil War, the Knights of the Golden CircleKnights of the Golden Circle,
secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War. Its members were known as Copperheads. Dr. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginian who had moved to Ohio, organized the first "castle," or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854 and
..... Click the link for more information. adopted (1864) the name Sons of Liberty.
Sons of Liberty
a secret, patriotic, mass organization formed in 1765 in the British colonies of North America. It united members of the urban petite bourgeoisie, craftsmen, and farmers. Using both legal and illegal methods, the Sons of Liberty fought against colonial rule and effected a boycott of British goods (in particular, the Boston Tea Party of 1773). The organization was actively involved in creating the First Continental Congress of 1774, which played an important role in uniting the colonies in the struggle for independence.