Besides, if it had said he should be lynched, it would be one thing; but his sign calls for Cruz to be hung from a figurative tree.
The Sons of Liberty tarring and feathering a tax collector underneath the Liberty Tree
What Was "The Liberty Tree"?
In Boston, Massachusetts during 1765, individuals calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" gathered under a large elm tree, corner of Essex Sreet and Orange Street, to protest the hated Stamp Act imposed by the British Government. The Stamp Act was more than a revenue-raising tax imposed upon the colonists from distant London; it was also a means of censorship, or a "knowledge tax," on the rights of the colonists to write and read freely since it applied to papers, newspapers, advertisements, and other publications and legal document. The "Sons of Liberty" concluded their protest by hanging tax collectors in effigy from the tree they had gathered under. From that day forward, the tree became known as "the Liberty Tree."
In the year that followed, almost every American town had its own Liberty Tree---a living symbol of popular support for individual liberty and resistance to tyranny. When the British later seized Boston in 1775, they cut down the original Liberty Tree and used it for firewood. This act only further enraged the colonists. As resistance to the British grew, flags bearing a representation of the Liberty Tree were flown to symbolize the unwavering spirit of liberty. These flags were later a common sight during the battles of the American Revolution.
SOURCE
Liberty Tree
A song, written early in the American Revolution
by Thomas Paine, 1775
In a chariot of light from the regions of day,
The Goddess of Liberty came;
Ten thousand celestials directed the way,
And hither conducted the dame.
A fair budding branch from the gardens above,
Where millions with millions agree,
She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love,
And the plant she named Liberty Tree.
The celestial exotic struck deep in the ground,
Like a native it flourished and bore;
The fame of its fruit drew the nations around,
To seek out this peaceable shore.
Unmindful of names or distinctions they came,
For freemen like brothers agree;
With one spirit endued, they one friendship pursued,
And their temple was Liberty Tree.
Beneath this fair tree, like the patriarchs of old,
Their bread in contentment they ate
Unvexed with the troubles of silver and gold,
The cares of the grand and the great.
With timber and tar they Old England supplied,
And supported her power on the sea;
Her battles they fought, without getting a groat,
For the honor of Liberty Tree.
But hear, O ye swains, 'tis a tale most profane,
How all the tyrannical powers,
Kings, Commons and Lords, are uniting amain,
To cut down this guardian of ours;
From the east to the west blow the trumpet to arms,
Through the land let the sound of it flee,
Let the far and the near, all unite with a cheer,
In defense of our Liberty Tree.
SOURCE
After the work mentioned in this newspaper article was completed, a large copper plate was fastened to Liberty Tree and inscribed with the following words: This tree was planted in the year 1646, and pruned by order of the Sons of Liberty, Feb. 14th, 1766.
SOURCE
World renowned artisan, Eugene Landon, was commissioned to craft a series of historic items to be presented to American citizens and organizations that best represent duty to country and honor to God. The Providence Forum incorporated the Liberty Tree wood into Liberty Tree Bible Boxes that were presented to President George W. Bush, President James Earl Carter, and the United States Naval Academy . A large piece was chosen to make the yoke for the Spirit of Liberty Bell, a full-sized traveling replica of the historic Liberty Bell, cast to commemorate the 250 th anniversary of the original Bell, which had been commissioned in 1751 to celebrate religious liberty in America . A substantial portion of the remaining Liberty Tree wood was given to American Forests to be used in products like the Liberty Tree Knife.
By the way, the last Liberty Tree was felled in 1999
Is this STILL a "figurative" tree?
They do it with impunity. We do it in fear. What a wonderful concept.I refuse, however, to validate such behavior on our part because they do it.
Unless you have a time machine, it is indeed a figurative tree, seeing as how any physical trees that could make the claim are no more.