"Sons of Liberty", Townshend, Barre, and Colonial Taxes

[CarrollMS]

"In 1765, shortly before his rise to power, it was Townshend who initiated one of the more famous exchanges in Parliament of the period, in favor of George Grenville's newly proposed Stamp Act: "And now will these Americans, children planted by our care, nourished up by our indulgence until they are grown to a degree of strength and [luxury], and protected by our [weapons], will they grudge to contribute their mite [little bit of money] to relieve us from the heavy weight of that burden which we lie under?"


Townshend's words elicited, in the words of one observer, "a pretty heavy thump from [Isaac] Barre," another MP who made his famous and oft-quoted response, "Planted by your care? No! Your oppressions planted them in America . . . They nourished by your indulgence? They grew by your neglect of them."[9] In the midst of the long oration that continued, Barre coined the term "Sons of Liberty," a mantle which American rebels would proudly assume and use throughout the rest of their resistance. Barre's protestations aside, Townshend was on the winning side of this debate. The Stamp Act went through, with calamitous consequences for the relationship between the American colonies and the mother country."


Gleaned from the article CHARLES TOWNSHEND: ARCHITECT OF THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES.
https://allthingsliberty.com/2022/01/charles-townshend-architect-of-the-townshend-duties/