Sam Adams Biography

Essay by Thorns4EveryHartHigh School, 12th gradeA+, February 2006

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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 fixed circle around the royal governor. Adams organized the protest against the Stamp Act and was a founder of the Sons of Liberty.

Undoubtedly the most influential member of the lower house of the Massachusetts legislature, he drafted most of the major protest documents, including the Circular Letter against the Townshend Acts. He also wrote frequently for the press in defense of colonial rights.

Samuel was a very visible popular leader who spent a great deal of time in the public eye agitating for resistance. In 1765 he was elected to the Massachusetts Assembly where he served as clerk for many years.

It was there that he was the first to propose a continental congress. He was a leading advocate of republicanism and a good friend of Tom Paine. In 1774, he was chosen to be a member of the provincial council during the crisis in Boston. He was then appointed as a representative to the Continental Congress.

When the Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775, he was there along with his cousin John. In June of 1776, he supported the motion to declare the colonies as independent states. In July of 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence, and later the Articles of...