Samuel Adams…More Than Just Great Beer

While I am not a beer drinker, when I hear the name Samuel Adams, beer is probably the first thing I think of. For the past few years, I’ve delved deeply into studying American History and have since learned a great deal more about this man many call, “The Father of the American Revolution.”

Samuel Adams was born into a wealthy family in Quincy, MA and was one of 12 children, most whom would not survive their childhood.

From his youth, Adams was surrounded by politics as his father served as a member of the Massachusetts Assembly. His parents desired him to have a good education and began teaching young Sam at home. He attended Harvard University at the age of 14 to study for the clergy. Even though his career path became more political than religious, his sentiments on faith would continue to shape his worldview.

When Adams was 25, his father died and the family malt business came into his possession. Through either lack of interest and poor management (or both) Adams lost nearly everything and ended up living the rest of his life in poverty. 

Adams was a staunch supporter of independence, even though it was not yet popular among his contemporaries. In 1763, England announced that they would be taxing the American colonies to pay off debt incurred during the French and Indian War. Adams spoke at a meeting organized by the citizens of Boston to protest this act of Parliament. He argued that if they had taxation without representation, the colonists would be “reduced from the character of free subjects, to the state of tributary slaves.”1

In 1765, Adams first began serving in the General Court (legislature) of Massachusetts and was quickly appointed to several committees. It was Adams who suggested that a Continental Congress meet in New York in 1766. It was well known that Adams was a very poor man, so he was offered bribes by the British of wealth and position which he promptly refused. To Adams, liberty was far more precious than making life more comfortable for his wife and children.

Adams played a key role in the Boston Tea Party as he led a group of “Patriots” called the “Sons of Liberty” to the Boston Harbor on Dec. 6, 1773. In protest to a tax on tea and a monopoly granted by England to the East India Tea Company, dozens of men disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped 342 chests full of tea into the Boston Harbor. Each chest weighed about 400 pounds, and the total loss would be equivalent to about $1 million today.

Faith continued to play an important role in the life of Adams including his time serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress. When the Congress first met on Sept. 5, 1774, the meeting began with gridlock over who should pray to open the Congress.

After the urging of Adams, Reverend Jacob Duché, an Episcopal minister, was chosen to lead the assembly in prayer. Duche’s fervent prayer and reading of Psalm 53 inspired the delegates, and a Continental fast was called. The Congress felt they would not succeed without God’s help.

Through the course of the Revolution, when attendance at Congress waned and times seemed bleak, Adams remained forever the optimist, assuring his fellow members that their cause would be successful because, “we shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we show ourselves worthy of its aid and protection.” 2

During the second Continental Congress, Adams’ work culminated as he and 55 other brave men signed The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 forever severing America’s ties with England. Indeed with his signature, Adams took a leap of faith. He decided to risk what little he had and sign that document which ends with the phrase, “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Adams went on to serve not only as a Congressman, but as a State Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and after the death of John Hancock, as Governor of Massachusetts. Adams lived out his years serving in public office until he died on Oct. 2, 1803 at the age of 82.

Samuel Adams was one of the most passionate of our Founders. He fought his entire life for the principles that he believed in, although it never made him wealthy. He worked diligently to ensure liberty would be preserved, not just for himself, but for millions of Americans and generations to come.

1. Charles A. Goodrich, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (New York: Thomas Mather, 1832) p. 83

2. David C. Whitney, Founders of Freedom in America: Lives of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence and so Helped to Establish the United States of America (Chicago: J.G Ferguson Publishing Company, 1964) p. 57

For more information on Samuel Adams check out these websites:

The Samuel Adams Heritage Foundation 

The Boston Tea Party Historical Society, 

If you want to learn more, check out these books:

Sam Adams: A Life, by Ira Stoll 

For You They Signed-Character Studies from the Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, by Marilyn Boyer 

*The last book is one of my favorite homeschooling resources.