Samuel Adams | Biography, Facts & Death (1689–1748)

Samuel Adams Summary

Samuel Adams was a founder of the United States and an American statesman who lived from September 27, [O.S. September 16], 1722, to October 2, 1803. He was a politician in early America, a figure in the rebellion that led to the American Revolution, and one of the founders of the progressive values that formed American politics. He was President John Adams‘ second cousin and a fellow Founding Father.

Facts About Samuel Adams

Born	September 16, 1722, in Boston, the British colony of Massachusetts
Died	October 2, 1803, (age 81)
Wife	Elizabeth Checkley > Elizabeth Wells
Parents	Samuel Adams, Sr. > Mary (Fifield) Adams

The early life of Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was one of the 12 babies born to Samuel Adams, Sr. and Mary (Fifield) Adams in Boston, the British colony of Massachusetts, on September 16, 1722, an Old Style date that is sometimes converted to the New Style date of September 27. When infant deaths were high, only three of these children survived to their third birthday.

Adams’s parents were dedicated Puritans and members of the Old South Congregational Church. Adams was proud of his Puritan legacy and underscored Puritan values, particularly virtue, in his political career. The family lived on Purchase Street in Boston.

Samuel Adams, Sr. (1689–1748) was a successful entrepreneur and deacon in the church. Deacon Adams gained recognition in Boston politics as a consequence of the Boston Caucus, a group that supported democratic campaigns who supported common goals.

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The Caucus members participated in the propaganda procedure for the Boston Town Meeting. In contrast to a simple meeting of individuals, a New England town meeting is a type of local administration that involves elected

officials; William Fowler reportedly dubbed it “the most democratic institution in the British empire.

As he advanced in government, Deacon Adams was elected a city councilman, a justice of the peace, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He cooperated closely with Elisha Cooke, Jr. (1678-1737), the head of the “popular party,” that resisted any royal authorities from meddling with the colonists’ rights as outlined in the Boston Charter of 1691. The “popular party” members subsequently took the names Whigs or Patriots.

Education of Samuel Adams

After completing Boston Latin School, the younger Samuel Adams enrolled in Harvard University in 1736. Adams’s interest in politics gradually replaced his parents’ hopes that his education would qualify him for the ministry.

Adams resumed schooling after receiving his diploma in 1740 and his master’s degree in 1743. Like his father, he joined the colonial struggle for equality by asserting in his thesis that it was “lawful to defy the Supreme Judge if the Commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved.”

The early career of Samuel Adams

Adams was uncertain of his future in 1743 after graduation from Harvard. He considered going into law but eventually chose to start a business. His employment at Thomas Cushing’s counting firm lasted barely a few months because Cushing believed that Adams was too concentrated on politics to develop into a good entrepreneur.

Adams’ father likewise gave him a large loan at the time—£1,000—to start his own business. Adams’ lack of business sense was shown by the fact that he frittered away the other half of the money and lent half of it to a buddy who never paid it back. According to historian Pauline Maier, Adams was and has always been “a man utterly uninterested in either making or possessing money.”

Legacy of Samuel Adams

A controversial figure in American history is Samuel Adams. Before his death, disputes arose concerning his significance and reputation, and they still do nowadays.

Adams was regarded as one of the most significant leaders of the American Revolution by his contemporaries, both enemies and allies. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson referred to Adams as “the Man of the Revolution.” Leaders in other colonies were likened to him; Cornelius Harnett, Charles Thomson, and Christopher Gadsden were called the “Sam Adams of the South,” “Sam Adams of North Carolina,” and “Sam Adams of Philadelphia,” accordingly. John Adams had to explain that he was not Samuel, “the famous Adams,” when he went to France during the Revolution.

Samuel Adams Descendants

Samuel Adams had two of six children with Elizabeth Checkley, his first wife, who was capable of reaching adulthood: Samuel (born in 1741) and Hannah (born in 1756). Only Hannah Adams, the sole descendant of Samuel Adams, who now is known to have borne children, was one of these two. In 1764, Adams wed a second time to Elizabeth Wells. They didn’t have any children.

Samuel Adams’s Struggle with Great Britain

Soon after the British Empire won the French and Indian War, Samuel Adams became a substantial public figure in Boston (1754–1763). The British Parliament, heavily in debt and searching for new revenue sources, tried to impose a direct tax on the British American colonies for the first time. A more significant difference between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliament’s authority in the colonies was represented in this tax dispute.

Samuel Adams’s Death