Today is the unofficial V-J Day, or the day on which genocidal imperial Japan’s surrender in WWII was announced to an overjoyed nation and military. But it is also the anniversary of the 1765 founding of the history-shaping Patriot organization the Sons of Liberty.
In 1945, the atom bombs forced the emperor of Japan to face a painful but inevitable reality. To the horror and fury of many Japanese military leaders, including some who tried and failed to launch a coup against him, Emperor Hirohito announced to the Allies that Japan accepted the terms of unconditional surrender. The evil empire that had killed between 6 million and 10 million people was defeated. Americans filled the streets, cheering and weeping from joy. We had won. World War II was over.
But that victory was only possible because more than a century and a half previous, the Patriots of the Revolution founded America, so that there was a Republic to take on the tyrannies of the 20th century.
On August 14, 1765, the “Loyal Nine” burned an effigy of British tax collector Andrew Oliver. The British Empire was usually vicious in putting down rebellion and defiance, so these Patriots were indeed taking a risk. They inspired many others to do the same. As Donald Trump put it, “This bold act of defiance against the British Crown inspired thousands to rise up in protest, sending an unmistakable message to Great Britain that the colonists would never back down in their fight for freedom.”
The “Loyal Nine” ultimately founded the famous Sons of Liberty, the group that held a Tea Party in Boston Harbor and ignited the Revolution in 1775. Among its distinguished leaders were Samual Adams, Paul Revere, James Otis Jr., Joseph Warren, and John Hancock. Below is a clip from the Disney movie “Johnny Tremain” featuring Otis, explaining why the Sons rebelled against British tyranny.
“Staging protests, rallies, and boycotts, the Sons of Liberty ignited the flame of independence and set in motion the revolution that gave rise to self-government,” Trump said in his official statement. “Under the iconic battle cry, ‘No Taxation without Representation,’ the unruly rebels transformed the fight for American liberty from an impossible hope into a unifying cause for independence and helping to define what it means to be ‘American’ for the first time.”
On this V-J Day, let us all resolve to carry on the legacy of the Sons of Liberty.
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Author: Catherine Salgado
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