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Primary sourceDocument17 December 1765

Sons of Liberty broadside calling a meeting, December 1765

17 December 1765

A printed Sons of Liberty handbill from December 1765 calling members to meet under the Liberty Tree to hear a stamp distributor resign under oath.

Adams founded the Sons of Liberty, and this handbill shows the group's public organizing during the Stamp Act protests.

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Aged, browned paper broadside with torn edges and faint fold lines. Top reads 'St—p! St—p! St—p! No!' followed by 'Tuesday-Morning, December 17, 1765.' Large text: 'The True-born Sons of Liberty, are desired to meet under LIBERTY-TREE, at XII o'Clock, THIS DAY, to hear the public Resignation, under Oath, of Andrew Oliver, Esq; Distributor of Stamps for the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay.' Bottom: 'A Resignation? YES.'
Sons of Liberty, broadside calling a meeting, 17 December 1765. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed broadside issued by the Sons of Liberty and dated Tuesday, 17 December 1765. It calls the True-born Sons of Liberty to meet under the Liberty Tree at noon that day. The purpose was to hear the public resignation, under oath, of Andrew Oliver, distributor of stamps for the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay. The notice ends with the words 'A Resignation? Yes.'

Why it matters

Samuel Adams helped found the Sons of Liberty, the group that organized protests against the Stamp Act. This handbill shows how the group used public notices to gather crowds and pressure royal officials. It reveals how colonists in Boston turned opposition to a British tax into organized public action, and it names the stamp distributor the group wanted to force out.

Look closer

  • How does the handbill try to get people to act, and what words does it use to create urgency?
  • Who would have read this notice, and what does it leave out about the people who did not support the Sons of Liberty?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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