The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

Samuel Adams is revolutionized as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Born in Boston in 1722, he was the son of a wealthy brewer and ardent Puritan, and was raised in a staunchly Protestant community.

As a young man, Adams was highly educated, learning the basics of accounting, propagation, and rhetoric. He also obtained an extensive knowledge of politics, religion, and the classics. In 1744, Adams started a short-lived business career, but it ended in failure in 1748.

Adams began his revolutionary career shortly after his failed business venture when he was elected to father or the British House of Commons. There he garnered a reputation for speaking his mind and vigorously advocating for colonial rights and American independence.

Eventually, Adams was chosen to become a part of the Committee of Correspondence, a revolutionary body of British merchants, shopkeepers and other influential people who worked together to promote and protect colonial rights in the face of an increasingly oppressive British rule. Adams was also a key figure in organizing boycotts, non-importation campaigns, and armed resistance against British taxation on the colonies.

Adams was also an active speaker and writer of the American Revolution, penning newspaper articles, pamphlets, and books advocating for independence. His writings were often poignant and effective and helped gain support for colonial grievances and the colonial cause.

In 1773, Adams became a leader of the Sons of Liberty, an influential and very public revolutionary organization. With the Sons of Liberty, Adams organized the Boston Tea Party in protest of a British tax on tea and other goods in the American colonies, a pivotal event that eventually led to the American Revolution.

In the months and years following the Boston Tea Party, Adams became a highly respected figure, harshly criticizing British attempts to restrict colonial freedoms. He was also a major influence in Congress where he proposed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Adams was also a lead organizer of the first inauguration of president George Washington in New York City in 1789. He was also a primary organizer in establishing a new government in Massachusetts and was the governor of the state from 1794 to 1797.

Throughout his life, Adams was a great proponent of the principles of freedom, liberty, and self-governance, and without his fight for independence, the United States as we know it may have never come to fruition. He was truly a revolutionary in every sense of the word.

From his educational background in accounting and rhetoric to pushing for the American Revolution and establishing a new government, Samuel Adams was a true revolutionary and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. His passion to fight for freedom and independence will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.