The young men quickly agreed, and they parted company.

Henry looked forward to his next Sunday-afternoon talk with Mr. Knox, who also relished having such an eager listener. This time, Henry took the initiative and described his conversation with Somers and Gethers, but without naming them. The response was immediate and clear.

“I’ve known about the Sons of Liberty for several months, and I agree with their basic purpose. All the leaders in our company, including those in Scotland, are strongly opposed to the Stamp Act in the colonies, considering it to be abusive and counterproductive. Many of us believe that the purpose behind it is not just to develop something of a trade monopoly for England and raise revenue, but also to keep the colonies in a weakened financial condition. Some London factors have deliberately encouraged landowners in America to accumulate a load of debt that they know can never be repaid.

“At the same time, we’re concerned about an embargo, because we fear that our own merchants in Glasgow might suffer along with those in London. We have a number of ships in the Carolinas and Georgia right now loaded with rice and ready to go to Europe, and an embargo would cost us a lot of money. Although we are prepared to suffer some consequences, we would certainly like to see maximum pressure brought where it will do the most good, by inducing London to change its policies.”

Without saying so, Mr. Knox clearly approved of Henry’s joining the Sons of Liberty and proceeded to tell him how the effect of trade restraints might be focused on English merchants, manufacturers, and shipowners. Henry listened carefully and soon shared this advice with the Sons of Liberty.

After that, Henry maintained an acceptable level of shoe production but cut back on his work at the tannery. He spent all his spare time with the group. He learned that Somers was the leader and that his father was a large landowner near Norfolk and also a member of the House of Burgesses, the parliament of colonial Virginia. As had been originally explained to Henry, the members of the Sons of Liberty were divided into two groups. One, in which Henry was mostly involved, obtained information about commerce in the port city. They built up a list of all goods being imported and the national origin of each item. Some, like rum, came from the Caribbean. Others, like paint, glass, and firearms, mostly came from England. In these cases, the Sons of Liberty learned where they could be obtained from other countries. Where England was the only known supplier, they decided to urge Virginians to refrain from buying the item at all, a point that had been emphasized by George Washington, a prominent member of the House of Burgesses. Although the Commonwealth’s only newspaper, the Virginia Gazette, refused to publish anything that was critical of the mother country’s government, the lists were promulgated widely on leaflets and posters, and it was soon obvious that they were having an effect.