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The Sons of Liberty was an organization of American colonists that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies. The secret society was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. They played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765.〔John Phillips Resch, ed., ''Americans at war: society, culture, and the homefront'' (MacMillan Reference Library, 2005) 1: 174-75〕 Although the group officially disbanded after the Stamp Act was repealed, the name was applied to other local Patriot groups during the years preceding the American Revolution. In the popular imagination, the Sons of Liberty was a formal underground organization with recognized members and leaders. More likely, the name was an underground term for any men resisting new Crown taxes and laws.〔Gregory Fremont-Barnes, ''Encyclopedia of the Age of Political Revolutions and New Ideologies'' (2007) 1:688〕 The well-known label allowed organizers to issue anonymous summons to a Liberty Tree, "Liberty Pole", or other public meeting-place. Furthermore, a unifying name helped to promote inter-Colonial efforts against Parliament and the Crown's actions. Their motto became "No taxation without representation." ==History== In 1765 the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers stationed in the colonies, and intended that the colonists living there should contribute.〔John C. Miller, ''Origins of the American Revolution'' (Boston, 1943) p. 74.〕 The British passed a series of taxes aimed at the colonists, and many of the colonists refused to pay certain taxes; they argued that they should not be held accountable for taxes which were decided upon without any form of their consent through a representative. This became commonly known as "No Taxation without Representation." Parliament insisted on its right to rule the colonies despite the fact that the colonists had no representative in Parliament.〔John C. Miller, ''Origins of the American Revolution'' (Boston, 1943)〕 The most incendiary tax was the Stamp Act of 1765, which caused a firestorm of opposition through legislative resolutions (starting in the colony of Virginia), public demonstrations,〔Such as by the local judges and Frederick, Maryland. See 〕 threats, and occasional hurtful losses.〔Miller, ''Origins of the American Revolution'' pp. 121, 129–130〕 The organization spread month by month, after independent starts in several different colonies. In August of 1765, the group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts.〔Anger, p. 135〕 By November 6, a committee was set up in New York to correspond with other colonies. In December, an alliance was formed between groups in New York and Connecticut. January bore witness to a correspondence link between Boston and New York City, and by March, Providence had initiated connections with New York, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode Island. March also marked the emergence of Sons of Liberty organizations in New Jersey, Maryland, and In Boston, another example of the violence they committed could be found in their treatment of a local stamp distributor, Andrew Oliver. They burned his effigy in the streets. When he did not resign, they escalated to burning down his office building. Even after he resigned, they almost destroyed the whole house of his close associate, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson. It is believed that the Sons of Liberty did this to excite the lower classes and get them actively involved in rebelling against the authorities. Their violent actions made many of the stamp distributors resign in fear. Early in the American Revolution, the former Sons of Liberty generally joined more formal groups such as the Committee of Safety. The Sons of Liberty popularized the use of tar and feathering to punish and humiliate offending government officials starting in 1767. This method was also used against British Loyalists during the American Revolution. This punishment had long been used by sailors to punish their mates.〔Benjamin H. Irvin, "Tar, feathers, and the enemies of American liberties, 1768-1776." ''New England Quarterly'' (2003): 197-238. (in JSTOR )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sons of Liberty」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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