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Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Virtual Tour Detail

Sons of Liberty

In 1765 Parliament passed a law requiring colonists to affix stamps to printed materials from legal documents to newspapers and playing cards. Unlike customs duties paid by ship owners, the Stamp Act was a direct tax on the people.

Angry mobs attacked the home of Andrew Oliver (the stamp distributor) and Thomas Hutchinson, splintering furniture and scattering papers. British opposition leader Isaac Barre dubbed the mob "the freeborn Sons of Liberty." Hutchinson called them "Sons of Violence."