The Liberty Tree was one of the great elms planted early in Boston’s history. By the time Boston was in turmoil over the mistreatment of the colonists, the tree was over a hundred years old. A single event turned the tree from a tree to a national symbol. In August of 1765, in response to the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty hung two effigies on the tree. One effigy represented Andrew Oliver (the local tax official) and the other of Lord Butte (who in large part was responsible for the Stamp Act). Large crowds gathered under and around the tree to protest the unjustness of the Stamp Act. The act was a tax on various documents in the colonies. For example, legal documents had to have the official stamp, making it clear the person paid the tax. After the protests on the Stamp Act, crowds regularly gathered at the tree for protests on other revolutionary subjects. It did not represent the mission of the political leaders; this tree represented the citizens of Boston’s violent, mob action.

The Sons of Liberty made the tree famous on that August morning. The group focused on organizing against the unfair British policies. Originally, the term “sons of liberty” was a “generic term of national pride.” It referred to the pride of being British, but after the British began using the colonies unfairly the term shifted.  The group led the action on that first day, but after another similar protest the group decided they would not be a part of violent measures.

The British despised the tree and what it represented. During the British occupation of Boston, soldiers chopped the tree down for firewood. After Americans took back the city, a “Liberty Pole” took the place of the Liberty Tree. Now all that marks the famous spot of the tree’s location is a plaque on the ground.  

By: Jessica McKenzie

Credits and Sources:

Carp, Benjamin L. “Terms of Estrangement: Who Were the Sons of Liberty?” Colonial Williamsburg Journal (Winter 2012)Accessed September 22, 2016. https://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/winter12/liberty.cfm

Liberty Tree Foundation. “The Original Liberty Tree.” Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://libertytreefoundation.org/original-liberty-tree

O’Connor, Thomas H. Boston: A to Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000.

Trickey, Erick. “The Story Behind a Forgotten Symbol of the American Revolution: The Liberty Tree.” Smithsonian.com May 19, 2016. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-behind-forgotten-symbol-american-revolution-liberty-tree-180959162/?no-ist