An American Liberty Elm was named for the Liberty Tree, regarded as the country's first symbol of freedom. On the morning of August 14, 1765, people in Boston found two effigies hanging from an elm in protest of the Stamp Act, and from that day the tree became known as the Liberty Tree. It stood as the site of countless meetings, speeches, and celebrations and served as a rallying place for the Sons of Liberty. In August 1775, as a last act of violence before evacuating Boston, British soldiers cut it down because it bore the name Liberty. The American Liberty Elm was planted as part of a national program to restore the grace and beauty of the American Elm to cities and towns across America, and it was planted by the Charlestown Heritage Commission.