Samuel Adams Samuel Adams was born in Boston on Sept. 17th, 1722, and died on Oct. 2nd, 1803. He was a major leader in the American Revolution. The son of a wealthy brewer, he inherited one-third of the family property but lost most of it through poor management. After attending Harvard, he became active in colonial politics and enjoyed a popular following through his activities in the Boston political clubs, such as the Caucus Club, which was influential in nominating candidates for local office.

Adams was an effective spokesman for the popular party opposed to the entrenched circle around the royal governor. Adams organized the protest against the Stamp Act (1765) and was a founder of the Sons of Liberty. Undoubtedly the most influential member of the lower house of the Massachusetts legislature (1765-74), he drafted most of the major protest documents, including the Circular Letter (1768) against the Townshend Acts. He also wrote frequently for the press in defense of colonial rights. Adams formed close ties with John Hancock, whose connections with the Boston merchants made him useful in the revolutionary cause. After 1770 he was the focal point in the creation of intercolonial committees of correspondence to sustain the spirit of resistance. He was a principal organizer of the Boston Tea Party (1773). Because of the intemperate language of his essays for the press (Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson called him the greatest "incendiary" in the empire) and his early advocacy of independence, Adams was regarded as a radical. At the First Continental Congress he worked closely with John Adams, his second cousin. Their influence was crucial in the rejection of the plan of union presented by Joseph Galloway and in the adoption of a compulsory nonimportation agreement (in effect a boycott of British goods). Samuel Adams remained in Congress until 1781, participating in the drafting of the Articles of Confederation. After the Revolution his influence in Massachusetts was never as great, although he continued to be active in state politics, serving as lieutenant governor (1789-93) and as governor (1794-97). A more conservative figure in later years, he condemned the farmers' actions during Shay's Rebellion and endorsed ratification of the federal Constitution.

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Author: Harry Ammon.
Picture Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Bibliography: Cushing, Harry A., ed., The Writings of Samuel Adams, 3 vols. (1904-08; repr. 1968); Galvin, John B., Three Men of Boston (1976); Gerson, Noel B., Grand Incendiary: A Biography of Samuel Adams (1973); Harlow, Ralph V., Samuel Adams, Promoter of the American Revolution (1972); Hosmer, James, Samuel Adams (1898; repr. 1980); Maier, Pauline, The Old Revolutionaries: Political Lives in the Age of Samuel Adams (1982); Miller, John C., Sam Adams, Pioneer in Propaganda (1936; repr. 1960).