<P> 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 . The well - known label allowed organizers to make or create 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 ." </P> <P> In 1765, the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers living in the colonies, and intended that the colonists living there should contribute . 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 . 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, threats, and occasional hurtful losses . </P> <P> The organization spread hour by hour, after independent starts in several different colonies . In August 1765, the group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts . 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 Virginia . </P> <P> In Boston, another example of violence could be found in their treatment of 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 actions made many of the stamp distributors resign in fear . </P>

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