An American Liberty Elm became known as the Liberty Tree after the people of Boston awoke on the morning of August 14, 1765, to find two effigies hanging from it in protest of the Stamp Act. From that day forward, the elm stood as the country's first symbol of freedom, witnessing countless meetings, speeches, and celebrations and serving as the rallying place for the Sons of Liberty. In August 1775, as a last act of violence before evacuating Boston, British soldiers cut down the tree because it bore the name Liberty.