Sons of Liberty
During the period of the Stamp Act’s enforcement, colonial governments nullified the law and the people’s actions, as evidenced in the protests in Wilmington, cancelled the law. From 1765 to 1766, American colonists joined a group named Sons of Liberty. The association met similarly to colonial assemblies, yet each each chapter declared more revolutionary measures than the official assembly. In many ways, the Sons of Liberty’s existence reveals less dependence on the government and more on individual and community solutions to problems. A decade later, the Sons of Liberty and similar groups such as the Sons of Neptune and the Philadelphia Patriotic Society, according to historian Larry Schweikart, “provided the organizational framework necessary for revolution.”After the Connecticut Sons of Liberty denounced the Stamp Act and pledged to fight, if necessary, the Sons of Liberty followed suit across the colonies. In Wilmington, North Carolina, Sons of Liberty members pledged to resist the tax “with [their] lives and fortunes.” As a means of protest, the Wilmington chapter held mock funeral processions. Sons of Liberty members undoubtedly ignited the 1766 protests against the closing of North Carolina ports, especially the Wilmington port.
The colonial protests and refutation of Sir William Blackstone’s argument of parliamentary sovereignty led to the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty later played a major role persuading non-compliers to enforce a boycott of British goods.
Sources:
Murray N. Rothbard, Conceived in Liberty Vol. III (Auburn, Alabama: reprint, 1999); Milton Ready, The Tar Heel State, A History of North Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina: 2005); Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, A Patriot’s History of the United States (New York, New York: 2004).
See Also:
Related Categories: Political History, Colonial North CarolinaRelated Encyclopedia Entries: Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765), Edward Vail (1717-1777), Edenton Tea Party, Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, Carteret County, Robert Howe (1732-1786), Republicanism, William Hooper (1742-1790), Watauga Association, Cross Creek, William Richardson Davie (1756-1820), Alfred Moore (1755-1810), Principles of an American Whig, Stamp Tax Protests (Wilmington), Non-Importation Movement, Merchants Committees of Inspection, The Justice and Policy of Taxing the American Colonies in Great Britain Considered, Provincial Convention (1775), Tories, John Alexander Lillington (c.1725-1786), Richard J. Salem (1947- ), James Iredell, Sr. (1751-1799), Act Concerning Marriages (1669), Lieutenant Governor, Carolina Charter of 1663, Affirmations, Johnston Riot Act, Hillsborough Confrontation (1768), William Linkhaw, Dual Tenure (late 1800s), To The Inhabitants of Great Britain, Stamp Act, Plantation Duty Act (1673), Concessions and Agreement (1665)
Related Commentary: Edenton Tea Party: An American First, When Wilmington Threw A Tea Party: Women and Political Awareness in Revolution-Era North Carolina, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, Nothing Says It Better Than A Good Quote
Timeline: 1664-1775
Region: Statewide