Georgia’s Liberty Tree BBQ Championship

History of the Liberty Tree

The original Liberty Tree (1646 – 1775) was a famous elm tree that stood in Boston in the days before the American Revolution. It was a symbol of America's freedom and independence in the late 1700s. It became known as the "Liberty Tree" on August 14, 1765, when a group of men, known as the Sons of Liberty, gathered under the tree to protest the Stamp Act that had been imposed on the American colonies.

The tree became a rallying point for Bostonians in their growing resistance to the rule of England over the American colonies. It was often decorated with banners and lanterns. When news of the Liberty Tree spread to the other colonies, each of them followed suit by forming a Sons of Liberty group and identifying a large tree to be used as a meeting place. In those times, holding unauthorized assemblies was dangerous business that carried threats of imprisonment or death. The casual appearance of people talking beneath a tree was much safer.