“By no means,” replied Grandfather. “It was a most important and [memorable event], this first coming together of the American people by their representatives from the North and South. If England had been wise, she would have trembled at the first word that was spoken in such an assembly.”
These [remonstrances and petitions], as Grandfather observed, were the work of grave, thoughtful, and prudent men. Meantime the young and hot-headed people went to work in their own way. It is probable that the petitions of Congress would have had little or no effect on the British statesmen if the [violent deeds] of the American people had not shown how much excited the people were. Liberty Tree was soon heard of in England.
“What was Liberty Tree?” inquired Clara.
“It was an old elm tree,” answered Grandfather, “which stood near the corner of Essex street, opposite the Boylston Market. Under the spreading branches of this great tree the people used to assemble whenever they wished to express their feelings and opinions. Thus, after a while it seemed as if the liberty of the country was connected with Liberty Tree.”
“It was glorious fruit for a tree to bear,” remarked Laurence.
“It bore strange fruit sometimes,” said Grandfather. “One morning in August, 1765, two figures were found hanging on the sturdy branches of Liberty Tree. They were dressed in square-skirted coats and smallclothes, and as their wigs hung down over their faces they looked like real men. One was intended to represent the Earl of Bute, who was supposed to have advised the King to tax America. The other was meant for the effigy of Andrew Oliver, a gentleman belonging to one of the most respectable families in Massachusetts.”
“What harm had he done?” inquired Charley.
“The King had appointed him to be distributer of the stamps,” answered Grandfather. “Mr. Oliver would have made a great deal of money by this business; but the people frightened him so much by [hanging him in effigy], and afterward by breaking into his house, that he promised to have nothing to do with the stamps. And all the King’s friends throughout America were compelled to make the same promise.”
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
Discussion. 1. Describe the loyalty of the colonists to King George. 2. Give two reasons why the colonies began to feel more and more independent. 3. What were some of the laws passed by the English Parliament that made the colonies wish for independence? 4. What was the Stamp Act? 5. Would you have felt as Clara did or as Laurence felt? 6. Describe the change that these wrongs wrought in the colonists. 7. Describe the congress proposed by the Massachusetts legislature. 8. What did this congress do? 9. Why was this congress so important? 10. How did Liberty Tree get its name? 11. What “fruit” did it bear? 12. Pronounce the following: comprehend; sagacious; tributaries; effigy; Parliament.