![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.75in" height="2.452777777777778in"}

**Samuel Adams**, by John Singleton Copley, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

**Samuel Adams** ([September
27](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_27)
([OS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates)),
[1722](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1722)--[October
2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2),
[1803](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1803)) was an
[American](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)
[leader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership),
[politician](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician),
[writer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer), and [political
philosopher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_philosophy), and one
of the [Founding Fathers of the United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States).
Adams was the chief
[Massachusetts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts) leader who
garnered the support of the other colonies in rebelling against [Great
Britain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain), ultimately
resulting in the [American
Revolution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution). After
serving as a
[Boston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston%2C_Massachusetts) tax
collector, Adams led town meetings in which he drafted protests against
[Parliament](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England)\'s
colonial tax measures such as the [Stamp
Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765) and called for the
colonists to defend their rights and liberties. In later years, Adams
organized the [Boston Tea
Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party) and other protests
against the British. Adams took a proactive role in the [Continental
Congress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Congress), and fought
for the [Suffolk
Resolves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffolk_Resolves), which called
for Massachusetts to withdraw from royal authority and establish a new
government in protest of the [Intolerable
Acts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerable_Acts) of
[1774](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1774).

He also championed for the approval of the [Declaration of
Independence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence)
at the [Second Continental
Congress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Continental_Congress).
Adams was very influential as a political writer and theorist; in his
writings, he articulated the principles of
[republicanism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republicanism) that shaped
American
[political](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States)
culture. In his writing, he made a case to withdraw from the authority
of [Great Britain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain) by
forming a new government. After the [United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) gained their
independence, Adams helped write the [Massachusetts
Constitution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Constitution)
with [James Bowdoin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bowdoin) and his
cousin [John Adams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams).
Afterwards, Adams helped draft the [Articles of
Confederation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation),
which remained in effect until plans to revise the document begun in
September 1786, eventually leading to the [Constitutional
Convention](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention) of
[1787](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1787). Along with [John
Hancock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hancock), another staunch
[anti-federalist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Federalism), Adams
reached a compromise with other
[federalists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist) in Massachusetts
to allow for amendments to
[Constitution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution),
should the document go into effect.

Once the document was ratified by enough states to become the law of the
land, Adams ran for the [House of
Representatives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives)
in the [1st United States
Congressional](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_United_States_Congress)
election. He was unsuccessful in his election bid, but was then elected
[Lieutenant Governor of
Massachusetts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Massachusetts#Lieutenant_Governor)
in [1789](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789). After [John
Hancock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hancock)\'s death on [October
8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_8),
[1793](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1793), Adams served as the acting
governor, until he was elected governor in January of the following
year. He served in that position until June 1797 when he decided to
retire from the political scene.

Courtesy: Wikipedia