“In Praise of Liberty”: Colonial Crowds Protest the Stamp Act

Background: Colonists’ protests against the Stamp Act took many forms, including hanging and burning effigies of British officials and destroying their offices and houses, as well as those of colonial Stamp Act commissioners. The following account—from the Patriot newspaper The Boston Gazette—of an attack on Boston’s stamp collector Andrew Oliver shows how effective such dramatic crowd actions could be.

Early on Wednesday morning last, the effigy of a gentleman sustaining a very unpopular office, viz, that of Stamp Master, was found hanging on a tree in the most public part of the town, together with a boot, wherein was concealed a young imp of the Devil represented as peeping out of the top. On the breast of the effigy was a label, “IN PRAISE OF LIBERTY,” and announcing vengeance on the subverters of it. And underneath was the following words: He That Takes This Down Is an Enemy to His Country. The owner of the tree . . . endeavored to take it down; but being advised to the contrary by the populace, lest it should occasion the demolition of his windows, if not worse, desisted from the attempt. The diversion it occasioned among the multitude of spectators who continually assembled the whole day, is surprising: not a peasant was suffered to pass down to the market . . . till he had stopped and got his articles stamped by the effigy. Towards dark some thousands repaired to the said place of rendezvous, and having taken down the pageantry, they proceeded with it along the main street to the town house, thru which they carried it, and continued their route thru Tilby Street to Oliver’s dock, where there was a new brick building just finished; and they imagining it to be designed for a Stamp Office, instantly set about demolishing of it, which they thoroughly effected in about half an hour.

Source: Boston Gazette, August 19, 1765.