Sons Of Liberty Dbq

When the Revolutionary War ended with the surrender of British forces after the last major battle in 1781 near Yorktown, Virginia, the colonies became the United States of America. Of course, the years after the War, are the most remembered in time. However, the question arises, what initially caused the War, or who at that. How history is remembered and recorded differs depending upon the bias, personal memories, and culture of the historian. Based on several accounts and sources, the Sons of Liberty were the ones who had initially caused the Revolutionary War. The events following the Sons of Liberty up to the first shots fired at the Battle of Lexington, were all in domino effect from said resistance group.
The Sons of Liberty were most remembered from the Boston Tea Party. “On the evening of December 16, 1773, in Boston, several score Americans, some badly disguised as Mohawk Indians, their faces smudged with blacksmith’s coal dust...within three hours, the men--members of the Sons of Liberty-- had cracked open more than 300

crates of English tea with hatchets and clubs, then poured the contents into Boston Harbor” (Douglas). In response to this behavior, an angered Lord North and members of Parliament, enacted a series of punitive acts such as the Coercive Acts upon its colonists. In March 1774, Parliament had passed the Boston Port Act, punishing the Sons of Liberty directly. The city’s harbor was to be closed until the colony paid Britain 9570 pounds for the lost tea. “Though Samuel Adams might have seen the destruction of the tea in Boston as the event that would once and for all unite the colonies in opposition to the Crown, the immediate repercussions were not entirely favorable for the radical movement” (Standiford). The Coercive Acts were nicknamed the “Intolerable Acts” in the colonies. “Christopher Gadsden wrote Adams that all supporters of liberty in South Carolina sympathized with Boston’s suffering and pledged that shipments of rice were on the way from his colony to Massachusetts” (Standiford). In the end the Sons of liberty had united the colonies under harsh conditions. It begun to separate the Loyalists and Patriots.
The Sons of Liberty was created by Samuel Adams, a patriot.

“The Sons of Liberty were initially formed in reaction to the Stamp Act, and during its height of activity during 1765- 1776 the group became an embodiment of the revolutionary movement and fed the development of a national identity”(McKee). While many of their resistance weren’t as extreme as the Boston Tea Party, they utilized intimidation, mob violence, and propaganda to attack their targets which were often representatives of the Crown. “In addition to beatings and the use of tar and feathers, the Sons of Liberty were known to intimidate agents of the ministry by leading an angry and excited mob to their doorstep. It was not uncommon for the Sons of Liberty to ‘surround the houses of the royal Customs Commissioners at night, beating drums, blowing horns and uttering bloodcurdling Indian war whoops”(Wood). Of course, history will remember them most for their Boston Tea

Party.
Gradually as colonies began to suffer under the weight of the Intolerable Acts, patriots began to unite, forming the First Continental Congress. “The punitive Intolerable Acts drove all the colonies except Georgia to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia in September 1774. The purpose...was to respond to what delegates viewed as Britain's alarming threats to their liberties. However, most Americans had no desire for independence” (Newman). Leading the radical faction-- those demanding the greatest concessions with Britain-- were Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and John Adams. The Sons of Liberty fought for a country of liberty, away from the Crown. A country that wouldn’t infringe on their rights to no taxation without representation. But, as more Acts were placed upon the colonies, the Sons of Liberty and patriots begun to ready for war with Britain.
The delegates voted on a series of proposed measures, each of which was intended to change British policy without offending moderate and conservative colonists. In the end they were dismissed by the King, and war broke out. The Sons of Liberty’s actions during the Boston Tea Party showed Lord North the “animalistic” behaviors of the colonists, especially Boston. Afterwards the Intolerable Acts were placed upon the colonies because of the Sons of Liberty then summoned all the colonies to discuss possible measures and agreements with the King.