Samuel Adams

Categories: Social Science | Politics

  • Philosopher and statesman Samuel Adams is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the American Revolution." He had been an outspoken critic of the British Stamp Act of 1765 and was instrumental in planning the Boston Tea Party.

  • Fast Facts:

    1. Born September 27, 1722 in Boston, Massachusetts
    2. Wife: Elizabeth Checkley Adams
    3. Religion: Congregationalist
    4. Parents were devout Puritans
    5. Second cousin of President John Adams
    6. Coined the term "Boston Massacre"
    7. Critical of General George Washington
    8. Worked as a brewer and tax collector

  • Early Life

    Adams initially studied theology at Harvard University, starting at age 14, but soon became interested in politics and government. He was influenced by the writings of John Locke and his advocacy for the notion of "natural rights," independent of government.

    Though his parents urged him to start a business career, Adams instead started a political newsletter, The Public Advertiser, with some friends and took a job as a clerk in Massachusetts House of Representatives.

  • Politics

    Adams became an important figure in Boston politics, and an agitator against British taxation in the colonies. He took a lead role in organizing the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, in which a group of 80 men dressed as Indians and dumped imported tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act.

    Adams was a delegate to the 1774 First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania representing Massachusetts as well as the Second Continental Congress, and was among the more strenuous advocates of colonial independence. He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

    Adams would go on to serve as State Senate of Massachusetts and as Governor of Massachusetts. He died at age 83 on October 2, 1803.

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