Liberty Tree

The idea of the liberty tree originated in Boston in 1765, when a great elm became the focal point for patriot demonstrations leading up to the American Revolutionary War. The symbol was taken up by French revolutionaries, who planted a liberty tree in Paris in 1792 following the fall of the monarchy. The planting of the liberty tree in 1792 was celebrated in a famous painting by Pierre Etienne Le Sueur. Liberty poles holding aloft flags or Phrygian caps were more useful—and portable—than liberty trees and often stood in for them.