The Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty was an organization, founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1765, that was determined to resist any and all attempts by Parliament to control the American Colonies. The Sons of Liberty was originally founded to revolt against the Tea Act, but England was soon giving lots of taxes to pay back their debt from the French and Indian War. Since there was no American representative in Parliament, and this was thought to be unfair, so the Sons of Liberty's motto was "No taxation without representation." The purpose of the Sons of Liberty was to organize protests and boycotts throughout the 13 Colonies and to keep people from supporting policies they were opposed to, even if that meant using threats or actual acts of violence. The leaders and members of the Sons of Liberty were often middle class men, artisans, traders, lawyers, and local politicians. Also, though they were not official members, many influential members of society such as John Adams and John Hancock became associated with the group. For example, Samuel Adams published articles in the Boston Gazette, under a pen name, supporting the ideas of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty had a big part in many of the events leading to the Revolution including their most well known revolt, the Boston Tea Party.