The Sons of Liberty
Listen to the audio version
Introduction
The Sons of Liberty were an underground resistance group formed in the 1760s to oppose British taxation and protect what they saw as their rights as English citizens. They began in Boston but soon expanded throughout the colonies, organizing secret meetings under liberty trees, in taverns, and in private homes. While they claimed to be leaderless, some names stand out: Samuel Adams, a master of fiery speeches and persuasive writing; John Hancock, a wealthy merchant with revolutionary leanings; and Paul Revere, the midnight rider and part-time engraver of propaganda. Their most famous slogan—“No Taxation Without Representation”—summed up their core belief that laws made in Parliament shouldn't apply to colonies that had no say in making them.
The Sons of Liberty believed protests had to be loud enough to get noticed. Peaceful boycotts and petitions were part of their strategy, but when those were ignored, they didn’t hesitate to turn up the heat. Effigy burnings, ransacked homes, and even tarring and feathering tax officials sent a clear message: anyone helping enforce unfair laws could expect a personal visit.
While their methods were often brutal, the Sons of Liberty saw them as justified acts of defense—targeted, deliberate, and meant to rattle the British system. From their point of view, the Crown had ignored their voices for too long.
Listen to the audio version
Tax Collectors Become Targets
Tax collectors and customs agents became particular targets because, after all, you can’t collect taxes if there’s no one willing to take the job. Back in those days, it was common to vent your anger in a passive-aggressive ritual called effigy burning. Colonists spent a lot of time and creative energy decorating straw dummies of their enemies, hanging them in the town square while drunken crowds pelted them with rocks, chopped off their heads, and tossed them into bonfires. It was a way of sending the message, “you’re next.”
And sometimes… they meant it. As mobs usually go, the drunker they got, the less peaceful things stayed. Homes of tax officials were ransacked. Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts barely escaped with his life after a mob stormed his house mid-dinner, looted his wine cellar, and used his furniture for kindling. Andrew Oliver, the guy appointed to enforce the Stamp Act, had his house destroyed by an angry crowd. Not long after, he quit and sailed back to England. Mission accomplished.
But for those who didn’t get the message, the Sons of Liberty had one more card to play: tar and feathering. It sounds like something out of a cartoon, but it was brutal. Hot pine tar was poured over someone’s body, and then they were covered in feathers and marched through town for all to see. Once the tar cooled and hardened, trying to peel it off often took skin and hair with it. The pain, the humiliation—it worked. Critics called it barbaric. Sam Adams fired back that if Parliament hadn’t passed unconstitutional taxes, the violence wouldn’t be happening in the first place.
As anger against Parliament and the Crown ramped up in Boston and animosity toward the Stamp Act reached a fever pitch in 1765, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson and his home on Garden Court Street bore the full brunt. Although born in Boston, Hutchinson was called “Stingy Tommy” by the Sons of Liberty, who led an anti-British mob to sack the mansion on August 26th. The crowd broke into the front door with an ax, destroyed Hutchinson’s furniture, drank his wine and stained his honor when he was forced appear in court the next day without gown or wig.
Image and caption credit: https://www.historypin.org/
Credit
Listen to the audio version
Committees of Correspondence
Parliament didn’t back down easily. When the Stamp Act was repealed after massive protests, they added the Declaratory Acts to remind the colonists who was boss. Basically, they said: “Fine, no stamp tax—but we still have the right to tax you whenever we want.”
So, the Sons of Liberty got more organized. They helped launch a system called the Committees of Correspondence—kind of like the colonial version of a group chat. The first committee started in Massachusetts, thanks in part to Samuel Adams, but the idea spread quickly across all thirteen colonies. Local leaders, from merchants to printers, formed committees in their towns and kept each other informed by writing letters and sending them via riders on horseback. These messengers carried updates about new British laws, troop movements, protests, and any other warning signs of royal overreach. Some letters were copied and distributed to dozens of towns, creating a shared resistance playbook.
This network of handwritten intel gave the colonies something they’d never had before—coordination. And just in time, too. Because the next bad idea from London arrived in 1767.
1774: A gathering of minutemen - colonial militia of New England who were ready to fight the British at a moment's notice. Currier & Ives/MPI/Getty Images
Listen to the audio version
The Townshend Acts
In Summer of 1767, Parliament and King George III decided to tax paint, tea, glass, and lead—items the colonies couldn’t produce themselves. Collectively these new taxes were known as the Townshend Acts. Once again, the cry of “No Taxation Without Representation” rang out. Colonial assemblies passed resolutions to boycott British goods. Women got involved by making homemade clothes instead of buying imports. Even tea—yes, tea—was off the table. In colonial times, coffee was exotic and expensive, and most people drank tea for their caffeine boost.
The boycott worked—but not without consequences. British merchants were already in the middle of an economic depression, and now their colonial profits dried up too. They begged the king to do something. A smart king might’ve compromised. King George, famously stubborn and possibly a little unhinged, decided it was time to crush the rebellion by force.
An American colonist reading with concern the royal proclamation of a tax on tea in the colonies, part of the Townshend Acts; political cartoon, Boston, 1767.
Listen to the audio version
Why It Matters
The lead-up to the American Revolution wasn’t just a story about taxes and tea—it was about power, control, and who got to call the shots. In the span of a few years, the British government went from largely ignoring the colonies to micromanaging them with new taxes and stricter enforcement. Laws like the Sugar Act and Stamp Act may not have bankrupted the colonists, but they stirred up something far more dangerous—resentment. Suddenly, the colonists started questioning their place in the empire and whether Parliament, 3,000 miles away, had the right to control their lives.
What unfolded next shaped America’s identity. From Patrick Henry’s fiery speeches to the mob tactics of the Sons of Liberty, the colonies were learning how to fight back and stand together. The idea that government should exist with the consent of the governed wasn’t just revolutionary—it became the foundation for democracy in America. The events leading up to the Revolution remind us that freedom often comes at a cost and that ordinary people can change history when they’re willing to stand up and demand better.
Test Page