The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams deserves a more prominent place for his role in the achievement of American independence from Britain than most histories have recorded, argues author Stacy Schiff in this biography.Arguably, there are three reasons why Samuel Adams’ name doesn’t appear in the same Pantheon as his cousin John Adams or founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Hancock, and Alexander Hamilton.First, Samuel Adams was a member of an “older generation.” The other “Founders of Our Country” were at least 13 and as much as 35 years younger than Samuel Adams. Only Benjamin Franklin was older.Second, Adams’ writings first came to attention in the 1760s. Early on, his argument was for equal representation in Parliament rather than independence. When such a call for equal treatment and “no taxation without representation” was ignored by London, he stirred up rancor that led to the Boston Tea Party. When that led to a British decision to close Boston Harbor, Adams had additional reason to provoke resentment. Through articles and pamphlets written under some 30 pseudonyms, he was not above exaggerating British slights and failures.Third, Adams’ influence was generated by his talent as a propagandist and as a leader in the Massachusetts House. Although he galvanized public opinion against British rule in the other colonies, he was less influential in the Continental Congress. He left few papers, perhaps because in the 1760s and early 1770s he faced the risk of arrest as one of the most outspoken critics of the British-appointed governor of Massachusetts and of British rule generally. Once the Revolution was won, he became an unwelcome curmudgeon, failing to provide a vision of what this new country might be.The most enlightening part of the book concerns Samuel Adams’ role in the early events that preceded the Declaration of Independence by as much as 30 years.The American colonies were land rich, short of labor (which the South solved through the evil of slavery), and capital poor. Sam Adams’ father was a successful businessman with a malt business (not a brewer but a supplier to brewers), and sent his son to Harvard where he graduated sixth in his class of 23. Astonishingly, class rank was established by social standing rather than academic excellence!Samuel Adams had an early reason to resent Parliament and its representatives in North America. In 1744 when he was 22, his father was nearly wiped out by The Land Bank Crisis. The rapidly growing economy was in great need of capital. To provide liquidity, The Massachusetts House voted to issue paper money backed by land ownership. Samuel Adams’ father, like many who were land rich and cash poor, pledged his land for cash, only to see the Royal Governor’s Council veto the program, and Parliament in London prohibit such an initiative going forward. Required to come up with British currency to cover the debt they had assumed through the Land Bank program, the Adams family was forced into financial straits from which they never fully recovered.As to labor, the opportunities abundant in America created problems of governance for the British. In order to make a new life, British sailors often jumped ship when docked in American ports. In 1747, Boston mobs prevented the impressment of Americans to fill vacancies on British ships.Parliament had a free hand to collect taxes in England and indeed the rate of taxation was higher at home than in the American colonies. The military and administrative cost of protecting the colonists were high and collecting taxes was difficult. Parliament felt it had every right to impose the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 and did so without consultation with its American colonies.By this time, as a member of the Massachusetts House and as a propagandist, Samuel Adams became the most prominent voice of protest against “taxation without representation.” Boston had six newspapers which were his preferred method of advancing argument. Adams drafted a Resolve of the Massachusetts House, a document intended to be a North American Magna Carta, spelling out the rights of Massachusetts and intended as a model for the other states. This was rejected by London, which never came to grips with the aspirations of colonists so far away.Adams realized that the yoke of British tyranny could be overthrown only if Massachusetts was joined by other American colonies. Through his writing he tried to influence opinion in Philadelphia, Virginia, and beyond.As the 1770s unfolded, Adams was not alone in mobilizing resistance to British rule. Paul Revere took considerable license in his engraving of the Boston Massacre. Thomas Paine rose to prominence. In addition to his writings, Schiff argues that Adams was often directing action behind the scenes, as in the case of the Boston Tea Party which he may have helped plot even though he was not present as the act was committed.By 1775, Adams and John Hancock were two of the most prominent voices for independence, and were acclaimed by crowds as they made their way to Philadelphia for the Continental Congress. It is remarkable that neither man was seized by the British and charged with treason. But according to Schiff, General Gage worried that, if arrested, these two men would be replaced by ten more.Once the Revolutionary War had been won, Samuel Adams found his influence diminishing. Other founding fathers assumed prominent positions in the new nation. He briefly succeeded John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts but never achieved a national role. Without a body of writing that was directly attributable to him given his many pseudonyms, and seemingly out of step with the concerns of the new nation, his influence in provoking rebellion was largely forgotten.It’s quite a tale, but I was frustrated with Schiff’s writing style. It wasn’t until I finished the book, feeling that it was a slog, that I looked at other reviews and found criticism of her writing to be shared. Many readers will be interested to learn about Samuel Adams but will have to draw upon personal resolve to finish the book.

The research was well done. The book shows the origins of the American Revolution go back to the French and Indian war, ending in 1763. How various schemes by Parliament to pay for that war by squeezing the colonists was utilized by Samuel and his compatriots, small in number but effective in strategy, reverberating throughout the colonies. I was amazed that the Southern colonies were so attuned to what was occurring in the Northeast. It boils down to good newspapers and a literate public, together with a people that discussed events over “crackerbarrels.”

If Sam Adams was doing his thing today, he surely would be dismissed as a leftist propagandist, perpetual revolutionary, and social malcontent. In author Stacy Schiff's rendering of the man, in my mind's eye I think of Bernie Sanders, a never-compromise-your-principles sort of political rabble rouser. Back in college, one could always find the ideologue in perpetual revolt admired perhaps but also never one of the popular guys.The difference is, those guys with the nicotine-stained fingernails and greasy hair never succeeded.Samual Adams did,In Schiff's telling, Sam Adams did more to advance American independence from Britain than any of the other founding fathers. He manipulated, cajoled, threatened, intimidated, and lied to advance his cause.What becomes equally clear is that Adams had an very important ally: the British administration and king. They didn't understand America and blundered repeatedly in passing laws or taking measures that played in the revolutionaries' hands.Schiff suggests (there is little written documentation) that Adams was the brains behind the Boston Tea Party, which n turn triggered Britain's blockage of Boston harbor, and hence, Boston itself. Eventually, the British governor, Gen. Gauge, was ordered to arrest the troublemakers, starting with Sam Adams. Paul Revere's midnight ride was to warn Adams and ohn Hancock that the British were indeed coming. This resulted in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and the first real mutual support among the colonies.Problem is, once the revolution is won, what are revolutionaries to do? As years past, Sam Adams evolved into something of a curmudgeon, always complaining, complaining, complaining that the ideals of Revolution were being betrayed by those in power. He was tolerated but increasingly viewed as an eccentric, out step with the developing country.. Honored in death, but quietly forgotten.There's a lot to like in this book. There's also a problem of the writing, which cost this book one star: Too much needless writing. It's as if Schiff wanted to show the reader every piece of confirming evidence possible, no matter that her point was made a couple of hundred words earlier. She just kept piling it on.Writing about a very different genre, Elmore Leonard's Writing Rule #10 says, "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them."

Sam Adams was the cousin of the more famous John Adams, our first VP and Second President. The two were quite different, although they both agreed on the need for independence from Great Britian (Sam saw it first). In this book you will learn that while John was the intellect, Sam was the organizer and rabble rouser. He helped organize the beginnings of the rebellion using, in part, the 18th century version of Twitter - letters of correspondence and news article. He was very successful in changing minds and hearts, so essential to the revolutionary cause. A study of the Revolution is not complete without knowing Sam Adams, and this book will get you there.

While not a page turner, it gives the reader a real understanding of the people behind the revolution. Sam Adams comes across as the “glue” that keeps the spirit of liberty going during the tough times.

If they ever decide to put another face on Mt. Rushmore, it should be Samuel Adams. A true revolutionary, a clear thinker, and exactly the man we needed at the time. i really enjoyed reading his life story, and this is one of the best books on the American Revolution that has been written. I am thankful that the author has given us this knowledge and that Samuel Adams is getting the recognition he deserves.