By
Rick Hunt
Founding Father Samuel Adams was a man of strength and resolve. In 1780 he wrote an article for The Boston Gazette explaining why the patriots had taken up arms in the Revolution and praised them for their for their courage, especially George Washington. He reminded both soldier and citizen that God would treat them (and the country) the same way He was treated by them:
“May every citizen in the army and in the country have a proper sense of the Deity upon his mind and an impression of that declaration recorded in the Bible: “Him that honoreth Me I will honor, but he that despiseth Me shall be lightly esteemed”
-1 Samuel 2:30
- Samuel Adams was truly a man of conviction, integrity, and willingness to fight for just causes despite the possible consequences.
- You can see Sam’s convictions when he wrote about the injustice of British soldiers shooting colonists over a snowball fight in what is called the Boston Massacre.
- He was a ring-leader in the Boston Tea Party protesting unfair British taxation.
- Sam and his good friend Paul Revere founded the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty fought for Colonial freedom from British oppression.
- When Paul Revere made his Midnight Ride it was to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that the British were on their way to arrest them.
- He helped write the Articles of Confederation and the Massachusetts Constitution as well as many other important legislation.
- Adams first proposed the idea of a Continental Congress to legislate for all the Colonies jointly. As a founding member, Sam convened the first such meeting 9 years later in 1774.
- He was an original signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- Sam agreed with Patrick Henry that a Bill of Rights had to follow the Constitution otherwise the possibility of a tyrannical US federal government would just replace a tyrannical British government.
Sam Adams was born into the prolific Adams family in 1722. His first cousin was John Adams and second cousin John Quincy Adams who were the 2nd and 6th U.S. presidents respectively.
Like many other patriots of the day such as Paul Revere, Patrick Henry and several others, Sam shared many of the same circumstances in their lives. These patriots were born into huge families of 12 or more children, went on to be fathers of huge families, failed in their first businesses and had to file bankruptcy.
Because of Sam’s strong Christian values he insisted on prayer before the start of Congressional meetings. His integrity and passion were legendary. The governor of Massachusetts first tried to bribe Sam and then threatened to deport him to England, but Sam would not back down.
In odd facts, Sam was a tax collector when he was leading the fight against unfair taxes.
And finally, in 1984 when the Boston Brewing Co. launched their Sam Adams lager beer brand they thought Sam too homely to put on the label so instead they used a likeness of his good friend
PAUL REVERE !!