Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

Samuel and John Adams' names are almost synonymous in all accounts of the Revolution that grew, largely, out of Boston. Though they were cousins and not brothers, they were often referred to as the Adams' brothers, or simply as the Adams'. Samuel Adams was born in Boston, son of a merchant and brewer. He was an excellent politician, an unsuccessful brewer, and a poor businessman. His early public office as a tax collector might have made him suspect as an agent of British authority, however he made good use of his understanding of the tax codes and wide acquaintance with the merchants of Boston. Samuel was a very visible popular leader who, along with John, 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, where he was most noted for his oratory skills, and as a passionate advocate of independence from Britain. In 1776, as a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence. Adams retired from the Congress in 1781 and returned to Massachusetts to become a leading member of that state's convention to form a constitution. In 1789 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the state. In 1794 he was elected Governor, and was re-elected annually until 1797 when he retired for health reasons. He died in the morning of October 2, 1803, in his home town of Boston.

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>12/07/1796 U.S. President Lost 5.43% (-20.29%)</li>
<li>11/08/1796 US Vice President Lost 7.32% (-25.85%)</li>
<li>04/04/1796 MA Governor Won 57.35% (+18.84%)</li>
<li>04/06/1795 MA Governor Won 90.25% (+83.49%)</li>
<li>04/07/1794 MA Governor Won 61.48% (+30.80%)</li>
<li>10/08/1793 MA Governor - Acting Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>11/02/1792 MA Presidential Elector - District 01 Lost 1.76% (-14.85%)</li>
<li>04/06/1789 MA Governor Lost 0.40% (-80.18%)</li>
<li>12/18/1788 MA District 1 Lost 32.30% (-18.41%)</li>
<li>12/31/1781 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1780 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1779 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1778 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1777 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1775 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1774 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>09/01/1774 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>10/06/1765 Delegate to the Stamp Act Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>Samuel Adams (September 27 [O.S. September 16] 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and one of the architects of the principles of American republicanism that shaped the political culture of the United States. He was a second cousin to his fellow Founding Father, President John Adams.</p>

<p>Adams was born in Boston, brought up in a religious and politically active family. A graduate of Harvard College, he was an unsuccessful businessman and tax collector before concentrating on politics. He was an influential official of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Boston Town Meeting in the 1760s, and he became a part of a movement opposed to the British Parliament's efforts to tax the British American colonies without their consent. His 1768 Massachusetts Circular Letter calling for colonial non-cooperation prompted the occupation of Boston by British soldiers, eventually resulting in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Adams and his colleagues devised a committee of correspondence system in 1772 to help coordinate resistance to what he saw as the British government's attempts to violate the British Constitution at the expense of the colonies, which linked like-minded Patriots throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Continued resistance to British policy resulted in the 1773 Boston Tea Party and the coming of the American Revolution. Adams was actively involved with colonial newspapers publishing accounts of colonial sentimet over British colonial rule, which were fundamental in uniting the colonies.</p>

<p>Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, at which time Adams attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia which was convened to coordinate a colonial response. He helped guide Congress towards issuing the Continental Association in 1774 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and he helped draft the Articles of Confederation and the Massachusetts Constitution. Adams returned to Massachusetts after the American Revolution, where he served in the state senate and was eventually elected governor.</p>

<p>Samuel Adams later became a controversial figure in American history. Accounts written in the 19th century praised him as someone who had been steering his fellow colonists towards independence long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. This view was challenged by negative assessments of Adams in the first half of the 20th century, in which he was portrayed as a master of propaganda who provoked "mob violence" to achieve his goals.</p>