The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization of American Patriots which originated in the Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution. British authorities and supporters known as Loyalists considered the Sons of Liberty as seditious rebels, and referred to them as "Sons of Violence" and "Sons of Iniquity." Patriots attacked the apparatus and symbols of British authority and power such as gentlemen's homes, Customs officers, East India Company tea, and as the war approached, vocal supporters of the Crown.

The Sons of Liberty took their name from a debate on the Stamp Act in Parliament in 1765. Charles Townshend, speaking in support of the act, spoke contemptuously of the American colonists as being "children planted by our care, nourished up by our indulgence... and protected by our arms." Then Isaac Barre, a Member of Parliament and supporter of the American colonists, responded by describing the Americans as "the Sons of Liberty" and warned that they would resist the new tax.

North American colonists from Savannah to Halifax did indeed resist the Stamp Act in 1765, through legislative resolutions (starting in Virginia), public demonstrations (starting in Massachusetts), threats, and occasional violence. The success of this popular movement—the Stamp Act became unenforceable and was repealed in 1766—emboldened colonial Whigs to resist other new taxes with similar measures in the following years.

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 umbrella 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.

Groups identifying themselves as Sons of Liberty existed in almost every colony. Members were drawn from across class distinctions, although these borders were less well-defined in colonial America. Prominent members included Paul Revere, Thomas Young, Joseph Warren, Alexander McDougall, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Isaac Sears, John Lamb, James Otis, Marinus Willett, John Adams, and his 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.

The Sons of Liberty were able to impose a virtual blockade of British goods in 1768.

There was a long-running skirmish over Liberty Poles in New York City between the local Sons of Liberty (a.k.a. "Liberty Boys") and British troops stationed there which raged intermittently from 1766 until April, 1775 when the rebels gained control of New York City. The last liberty pole was cut down by occupying British troops on October 28, 1776. The most notable event being the Battle of Golden Hill on January 19, 1770.

The Sons of Liberty were responsible for the burning of the Gaspee in 1772 (see Gaspee Affair).

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, dressed to evoke the appearance of Native American Indians, poured several tons of tea into the Boston Harbour in protest of the Tea Act.

The Sons of Liberty were widely accused of tarring and feathering Tories.

The Sons of Liberty generally evolved into or were superseded by more formal groups such as the Committee of Safety.

In 1767, the Sons of Liberty adopted a flag with nine 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 thirteen 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.

The name was also used during the American Civil War. Early in 1864, 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.

The name Sons of Liberty also denotes a patriotic secret society at the University of Virginia.

* Becker, Carl. Growth of Revolutionary Parties and Methods in New York Province 1765-1774. American Historical Review 1901 7(1): 56-76. Issn: 0002-8762 Fulltext: in Jstor * Champagne, Roger J. Liberty Boys and Mechanics of New York City, 1764-1774. Labor History 1967 8(2): 115-135. Issn: 0023-656x Fulltext: in Ebsco * Champagne, Roger J. New York's Radicals and the Coming of Independence. Journal of American History 1964 51(1): 21-40. Issn: 0021-8723 Fulltext: in Jstor * Irvin, Benjamin H. Tar, Feathers, and the Enemies of American Liberties, 1768-1776. New England Quarterly 2003 76(2): 197-238. Issn: 0028-4866 Fulltext: in Jstor * John C. Miller; Origins of the American Revolution. (1943) online edition * Herbert M. Morais, The Sons of Liberty in New York in Richard B. Morris ed. The Era of the American Revolution (1939) pp 269-89 online edition

*Société des Fils de la Liberté (Quebec) *Stamp Act Congress *Boston Tea Party

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

* Tar and feathering is described in Jimmy Carter's 2003 novel, Hornet's Nest. During one of the meetings a man stated, “Why don’t we do something very dramatic that no one can stop us.”