Sons of Liberty

This was the group of Americans during the decade before the American Revolution that protested the British control over the colonies without representation. They included Paul Revere, John Adams, and Sam Adams. They led the Boston Tea Party, and organized early Revolutionary acts, both legal and illegal.

It's interesting to note that by modern definitions, the Sons of Liberty and the Minutemen would be considered terrorists. This shouldn't be taken to disparage or lessen their invention of a Free Nation, but it's something to keep in mind when looking at Chechnya, Kurdistan, and 1990s Afghanistan.

Thomas Miconi gives one such definition as The difference between resistance and terrorism: terrorists are only those who have killed innocent civilians. Hmm. I can't easily find records of civilians being killed, though tarring and feathering were common, and the Sons of Liberty certainly burned a few civilian governor's houses and coaches.