On the 13th of May, 1766, the news of the repeal of the stamp act was received in Boston and was celebrated under the Liberty Tree and on the Commons with great rejoicing.
The repeal of the stamp act, however, did not satisfy the patriots. While the excessive taxation that had been so oppressive and burdensome had been removed, the English Government still held to their right to tax the colonists, and did so tax them, though in a lighter degree.
The Sons of Liberty called a meeting on the afternoon of the 13th of May, 1767, at Faneuil Hall and prepared a petition to the Governor for the removal of a British warship from Boston harbor which was there for the purpose of enforcing the taxation laws.
A meeting was held March 6th, in Faneuil Hall, with nearly three thousand members present, Samuel Adams presiding, to protest against the presence of British soldiers in the city, the result of their presence being riot and bloodshed.
November 3, 1773, a meeting of the Sons of Liberty was called under the Liberty Tree to protest against the landing of certain ships supposed to be laden with taxable tea. Notice of the meeting was posted, and it bore at the bottom this legend: "Show me the man that dare take this down."
There is also a record of a meeting of the Sons of Liberty in the old tavern in Providence, R. I., at about the same time, November 3, 1773.
On the 16th of December, 1773, occurred the famous "Boston Tea Party," given under the auspices of the Sons of Liberty of Boston and Vicinity.
On March 1, 1776, the Sons of Liberty held their first meeting in Baltimore. Wm. Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the secretary. In Savannah, Ga., the first meeting was held July 14, 1774, when they concurred in the action of their Northern brethren. In 1765, the first meetings were held in South Carolina, and in New York meetings were held about concurrent with those in Massachusetts.
When first organized the Sons of Liberty had no thought of Independence, but were loyal to the British crown, though protesting against "taxation without representation."
Their motto was "FREEDOM," however, and as that could not be obtained under British rule, as a last resort they determined to be free and independent.