From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel Adams
(
September 27
(
OS
),
1722
?
October 2
,
1803
) was an
American
leader,
politician
,
writer
, and political philosopher, and one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States
. Adams helped gather support in the American colonies to rebel against
Great Britain
. This led to the
American Revolution
. Adams shaped the foundations of American politics.
Adams, born and raised in
Boston, Massachusetts
, was brought up in a religious family. He was educated at Boston Latin School and
Harvard
College. He started his life as a businessman, but did not like his occupation. He then turned his interest to politics, and became an influential political writer. Adams urged the colonists to withdraw from Great Britain and form a new government. He told the colonies to defend their rights and liberties at town meetings in Boston. He wrote protests against Parliament's taxes against the colonies, such as the
Stamp Act
of 1765. Adams also organized the
Boston Tea Party
in
1773
and he was a member of the
Continental Congress
. He argued for the
Declaration of Independence
at the Second Continental Congress in
1776
.
Adams helped write the Massachusetts Constitution with James Bowdoin and his cousin
John Adams
. Later, Adams helped draft the
Articles of Confederation
. After the Revolutionary War ended, he ran for the
House of Representatives
in the 1st United States Congressional election. He lost the election to
Fisher Ames
. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in
1789
. After John Hancock's death in
1793
, Adams served as the acting governor. He was then elected governor in January of
1794
. He served in that position until June
1797
. He then retired from politics and settled in his home in Boston. He died six years later on
October 2
,
1803
.
Many of the foremost works on Adams' life are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of the information in more recent biographies is attributed to these earlier works.
- Alexander, John K.
Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician
. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
ISBN
0-7425-2115-X
.
- Beach, Stewart.
Samuel Adams, the Fateful Years, 1764?1776
. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1965.
- Cushing, Harry A., ed.
The Writings of Samuel Adams
. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1908.
- Fischer, David H.
Paul Revere's Ride
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
ISBN
0-19-508847-6
.
- Fradin, Dennis B.
Samuel Adams: the Father of American Independence
. New York: Clarion Books, 1998.
ISBN
0-395-82510-5
.
- Hosmer, James K.
Samuel Adams
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1885.
- Irvin, Benjamin H.
Sam Adams: Son of Liberty, Father of Revolution
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
ISBN
0-19-513225-4
.
- Maier, Pauline.
From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765?1776
. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992.
ISBN
0-393-30825-1
.
- Maier, Pauline.
The Old Revolutionaries: Political Lives in the Age of Samuel Adams
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980.
ISBN
0-394-51096-8
.
- Miller, John C.
Sam Adams, Pioneer in Propaganda
. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1936.
- Puls, Mark.
Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution
. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
ISBN
1-4039-7582-5
.
- Wells, William V.
The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams: Being a Narrative of His Acts and Opinions, and of His Agency in Producing and Forwarding the American Revolution, with Extracts From His Correspondence, State Papers, and Political Essays
. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1865.
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Samuel Adams