Two hundred and sixty years ago, a band of patriots formed a new organization in the streets of Boston, determined to defy British tyranny and defend American rights.
President Donald Trump issued a laudatory statement to honor the anniversary today of the 1765 founding of one of the most famous and influential Patriotic organizations in American history. Trump praised the “small but mighty cohort of American patriots [who] banded together in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, united by one righteous goal: to resist the mounting persecution of the British Crown and defend their sacred birthright of freedom.”
On that memorable August day, in a protest against the British Stamp Act that taxed paper and official documents, the “Loyal Nine” burned an effigy of British tax collector Andrew Oliver. Since the First Amendment wouldn’t exist for decades, and the British Empire was usually vicious in putting down rebellion and defiance, these men were taking a chance. But it was a chance that paid off. As Trump said, “This bold act of defiance against the British Crown inspired thousands to rise up in protest, sending an unmistakable message to Great Britain that the colonists would never back down in their fight for freedom.”
The “Loyal Nine” would grow in numbers and become the famous Sons of Liberty, the same who held a historic Tea Party in Boston Harbor and helped launch the Revolution in 1775. Samual Adams, Paul Revere, James Otis Jr., Joseph Warren, and John Hancock were among its illustrious leaders. Below is a clip from the Disney movie “Johnny Tremain” featuring Otis, which encapsulates the core beliefs of the Sons (the song below is from the same movie).
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“Staging protests, rallies, and boycotts, the Sons of Liberty ignited the flame of independence and set in motion the revolution that gave rise to self-government,” Trump declared. “Under the iconic battle cry, ‘No Taxation without Representation,’ the unruly rebels transformed the fight for American liberty from an impossible hope into a unifying cause for independence and helping to define what it means to be ‘American’ for the first time.”
And, he continued, “The growing movement of resistance reached the tipping point on December 16, 1773, when the Sons of Liberty dumped hundreds of chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor. This protest against the unjust taxation on tea—forever known as the Boston Tea Party—struck a powerful blow against the British authority, rallied support for the patriot cause across the colonies, and set the stage for the first shots of the Revolutionary War fired at Lexington and Concord less than two years later.”
More than two and a half centuries later, Trump declared, the Sons of Liberty’s “righteous mission, daring courage, and unwavering devotion to freedom remains the proud inheritance of every American citizen.”
America was created not by power-hungry aristocrats or warring royals, as so many countries are, but by ordinary men who loved liberty more than life. The Sons of Liberty launched a Revolution that forever changed world history, and it is our obligation and our honor to carry on their legacy.
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