Samuel Adams (27 September 1722 – 2 October 1803) was an American statesman, philosopher, and founding father who served as Governor of Massachusetts from 8 October 1794 to 2 June 1797, succeeding John Hancock and preceding Increase Sumner. Adams, originally a brewer from Boston, played a key role in the events leading up to the American Revolutionary War (especially the founding of the Sons of Liberty and the Boston Tea Party), and he became a Democratic-Republican Party politician after the war. He was the cousin of President John Adams.
Biography[]
Samuel Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1722, the son of devout Puritans who belonged to the Old South Meeting House congregation; he was the cousin of John Adams. Adams graduated from Harvard in 1740 and became a brewer, having lost his family's fortunes when his father was embroiled in a banking scandal. Adams was a supported of the Enlightenment views of John Locke, arguing that people must resist any encroachment on their constitutional rights. In 1747, he was elected a clerk of the Boston market, and he became a tax collector in 1756. He became popular for failing to collect many of his taxes, and, in 1768, his friends paid off his deficit to prevent him from getting into trouble. From 1766 to 1774, he would serve as Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, using his position to advocate for his views.
Sons of Liberty[]
Adams in 1770
Adams argued against the unconstitutionality of Great Britain's "Intolerable Acts", protesting against taxation without representation. Adams was one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, and he soon became a radical opponent of British rule, taking part in protests. After the British Army occupied Boston, he gave up all hope of reconciliation and began to work towards American independence. Following the Boston Massacre of 1770, Adams convinced Colonel William Dalrymple to remove the remaining two British regiments in Boston to Castle William. For three years, Boston entered into a "quiet period", but the Tea Act of 1773 led to Adams masterminding the "Boston Tea Party", a demonstration against the new taxes. In response, the British closed down Boston Harbor, appointed Thomas Gage as military governor, and suppressed political dissent.
Adams at the Continental Congress, 1776
Adams was one of five delegates chosen to attend the First Continental Congress, and his trip to Philadelphia was his first trip outside of Massachusetts. He supported colonial unity, and he steered the Continental Congress towards a declaration of American independence. He was appointed to the Board of War in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, and he called for harsh state legislation to punish American loyalists. In 1780, his Massachusetts Constitution was approved by voters, and he retired from Congress in 1781 due to tremors. He never left Massachusetts again after his return to Boston.
Postwar career[]
After the war's end, Adams served in the State Senate, serving as its president from 1782 to 1785 and from 1785 to 1788. From 1794 to 1797, Adams went on to serve as Governor of Massachusetts, and he was a leader of his state's Democratic-Republican Party. However, he supported the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. He retired at the end of his term in 1797, and he died in 1803 at the age of 81.