<P> But it is clear that the crowd was giving vent to years of resentment at the accumulation of wealth and power by the haughty prerogative faction led by Hutchinson . Behind every swing of the ax and every hurled stone, behind every shattered crystal goblet and splintered mahogany chair, lay the fury of a plain Bostonian who had read or heard the repeated references to impoverished people as "rable" and to Boston's popular caucus, led by Samuel Adams, as a "herd of fools, tools, and synchophants ." </P> <P> Governor Francis Bernard offered a £ 300 reward for information on the leaders of the mob, but no information was forthcoming . MacIntosh and several others were arrested, but were either freed by pressure from the merchants or released by mob action . </P> <P> The street demonstrations originated from the efforts of respectable public leaders such as James Otis, who commanded the Boston Gazette, and Samuel Adams of the "Loyal Nine" of the Boston Caucus, an organization of Boston merchants . They made efforts to control the people below them on the economic and social scale, but they were often unsuccessful in maintaining a delicate balance between mass demonstrations and riots . These men needed the support of the working class, but also had to establish the legitimacy of their actions to have their protests to England taken seriously . At the time of these protests, the Loyal Nine was more of a social club with political interests but, by December 1765, it began issuing statements as the Sons of Liberty . </P> <P> Rhode Island also experienced street violence . A crowd built a gallows near the Town House in Newport on 27 August, where they carried effigies of three officials appointed as stamp distributors: Augustus Johnson, Dr. Thomas Moffat, and lawyer Martin Howard . The crowd at first was led by merchants William Ellery, Samuel Vernon, and Robert Crook, but they soon lost control . That night, the crowd was led by a poor man named John Weber, and they attacked the houses of Moffat and Howard, where they destroyed walls, fences, art, furniture, and wine . The local Sons of Liberty were publicly opposed to violence, and they refused at first to support Weber when he was arrested . They were persuaded to come to his assistance, however, when retaliation was threatened against their own homes . Weber was released and faded into obscurity . </P>

Who organized opposition to the stamp act and protests by the sons of liberty