"The Liberty Song" was written in 1768 when John Dickinson set out to reflect on the political strife caused by the Townshend Acts of 1767, the latest in a series of British crown taxes levied on the colonies.
First published in the Boston Gazette in July 1768, "The Liberty Song" later appeared in the Boston Chronicle of August 29, 1768. It was sung throughout the colonies at political meetings, dinners and celebrations; it is likely that "The Liberty Song" was the first song to express American patriotism. The most famous passage in the song is the source of a phrase known to many Americans centuries after: "By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall." Less considered is the final stanza, which calls for toasts for "our Sovereign's Health" and "Britannia's Glory and wealth."
