Sons of Liberty: Fathers of American Activism
The United States has a long history of political activism by and for the people, a legacy that continues today. The day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, more people took to the streets in protest than ever before. That fiercely American action dates back to the Sons of Liberty, a political group that organized for the rights of colonial citizens in the 18th century, against oppressive taxation from Britain (135-136). Many people use the term “vote with your dollar,” to refer an individual’s ability to support their own ideology through choosing whether or not to purchase goods or services from companies based on the ideology of a company’s leadership or charitable donations. …show more content…
The impact of this tax was extremely broad, as “newspapers, pamphlets, court documents, licenses, wills, ships’ cargo lists” would all be subject to this new tax. (134) The Stamp Act was announced a full seven months before it was to go into effect, which allowed time for people to react, and respond in an official capacity. (135) This began with responses from colonial assemblies, but “ran far deeper than political debate in assemblies,” because the tax had such a prolific effect on so many individuals, as so many people had to use paper in their occupations (136). This led to the creation of the Sons of Liberty, a resistance organization which was started mainly by Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Ebenezer Mackintosh in Boston, in August 1765. Part of the power of the Sons of Liberty’s movement was that the actual protesters came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, adding to a sense of unity to a society which had been fairly stratified. Their initial goal was to oppose the Stamp Act, and the first action they took was a public demonstration of a mock execution of the local stamp distributor in an effort to get him to resign. It worked, the distributor resigned. Just twelve days later the Sons of Liberty, completed their next action, in response to …show more content…
(137-139) Resistance to taxation without representation led to the emergence of the Daughters of Liberty, who lead a movement of “nonconsumption” of British goods, what we would refer to as boycott today. The Daughters of Liberty encouraged adherence to non-consumption agreements made in various cities, as many of the goods mentioned in these agreements were considered domestic purchases such as “carriages, furniture, hats, clothing, lace, clocks and textiles,” and unlike the Sons of Liberty, which came from a broad range of economic strata, the Daughters of Liberty were from the upper classes, and therefore in a prime position to inflict economic suppression of British imports. (139) Their goal was to financially pinch the British enough that they would take the colonists concerns about taxation without representation seriously, and they did make an economic impact.
The United States has a long history of political activism by and for the people, a legacy that continues today. The day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, more people took to the streets in protest than ever before. That fiercely American action dates back to the Sons of Liberty, a political group that organized for the rights of colonial citizens in the 18th century, against oppressive taxation from Britain (135-136). Many people use the term “vote with your dollar,” to refer an individual’s ability to support their own ideology through choosing whether or not to purchase goods or services from companies based on the ideology of a company’s leadership or charitable donations. …show more content…
The impact of this tax was extremely broad, as “newspapers, pamphlets, court documents, licenses, wills, ships’ cargo lists” would all be subject to this new tax. (134) The Stamp Act was announced a full seven months before it was to go into effect, which allowed time for people to react, and respond in an official capacity. (135) This began with responses from colonial assemblies, but “ran far deeper than political debate in assemblies,” because the tax had such a prolific effect on so many individuals, as so many people had to use paper in their occupations (136). This led to the creation of the Sons of Liberty, a resistance organization which was started mainly by Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Ebenezer Mackintosh in Boston, in August 1765. Part of the power of the Sons of Liberty’s movement was that the actual protesters came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, adding to a sense of unity to a society which had been fairly stratified. Their initial goal was to oppose the Stamp Act, and the first action they took was a public demonstration of a mock execution of the local stamp distributor in an effort to get him to resign. It worked, the distributor resigned. Just twelve days later the Sons of Liberty, completed their next action, in response to …show more content…
(137-139) Resistance to taxation without representation led to the emergence of the Daughters of Liberty, who lead a movement of “nonconsumption” of British goods, what we would refer to as boycott today. The Daughters of Liberty encouraged adherence to non-consumption agreements made in various cities, as many of the goods mentioned in these agreements were considered domestic purchases such as “carriages, furniture, hats, clothing, lace, clocks and textiles,” and unlike the Sons of Liberty, which came from a broad range of economic strata, the Daughters of Liberty were from the upper classes, and therefore in a prime position to inflict economic suppression of British imports. (139) Their goal was to financially pinch the British enough that they would take the colonists concerns about taxation without representation seriously, and they did make an economic impact.