|
|
Samuel Adams, Son of Liberty
|
|
|
The Father of American Independence
|
SAMUEL
ADAMS
was born in Boston, Massachusetts
on Sunday, September 22, 1722, the son of Samuel Adams,
a deacon and well established Boston brewer.
In 1736, at the age of 14, Samuel Adams entered Harvard,
ranking sixth in his class. Adams was elected Tax Collector
in 1764, a position for which he was not well suited as
he allowed some L8,000 of taxes go uncollected.
In 1765, the same year
the Stamp Act was passed, and one year after the passing
of the Sugar Act, Adams was elected to Massachusetts Legislature.
In protest of the 1765 passing of the Stamp Act, the
Sons Of Liberty were organized in Boston under
the leadership of Samuel Adams and heavily influenced
by James Otis, a fiery hot-tempered
attorney who worked with Samuel Adams' cousin,
John Adams-the second President of the United States.
In 1766, after much protest,
especially from Boston, the Stamp Act was repealed, only
to be followed by the Townshend Acts one year later. As
a result of Britain's newly passed Acts, Adams under approval
of the State House of Representatives, wrote the Massachusetts
Circular Letter attacking taxation without representation
and calling for unified resistance on the part of all
the colonies. Prior to the 1768 arrival of British troops,
Boston's Governor Bernard responds by dissolving the State
Legislature.
On March 5, 1770, around 9:00
P.M., the American cause for Liberty realized it's first
martyrs, with Crispus Attucks, an escaped slave, being
the first one killed in the Boston Massacre, an event
that gave Samuel Adams the fuel he needed to burn the
idea of Independence into the hearts of the Colonists.
The next big event that aided
Adams' idea of Liberty came in 1773 when British Parliament
passed the Tea Tax, giving the East India Tea Company
the exclusive right to sell tea in America. In a Boston
Town Meeting on the evening of December 16, 1773, Samuel
Adams was the speaker when he received the word that Boston's
Governor would land the tea on Boston's shores, therefore
requiring the citizens of Boston to pay the excise of
3 pence per pound, at which point Adams declared, "This
meeting can do no more to save this country",
words that apparently signaled the
Sons of Liberty, waiting in a crowd outside of
the meeting, headed by Paul Revere
and dressed like Mohawk Indians, to board three British
ships and dump around L10,000 of tea; Darjeeling and Ceylon
Blends, into Boston Harbor in what has became known as
the Boston
Tea Party.
In 1775, an occurrence took place
in what must have been the highlight of Samuel Adams'
long political career. Adams and
John Hancock were en route to Philadelphia as delegates
to the Continental Congress and were staying in Lexington
at Hancock's aunts home when Paul
Revere, a Boston Son of Liberty, rode up to the
house sometime after midnight alerting the two Patriots
that British troops were on the way to arrest them and
send them to London to be tried for treason. Some men
standing guard outside of the home, undoubtedly more of
Boston's Sons of Liberty, warned Revere that he was making
"too much noise", and that the two delegates
were sleeping. Revere replied, "There'll be noise
soon enough! The Regulars are coming!" Hours
later, as John Hancock and Samuel Adams watched from a
distance hiding in a marsh and protected by a few armed
Sons of Liberty, the "shot heard 'round the world"
rang out on Lexington Green as Massachusetts Minute Men
and British troops exchanged fire in the start of the
Revolution. Adams turned to John Hancock, his fellow Patriot
and long time friend, and said, "Oh, what a glorious
morning is this!"
Another highlight and accomplishment
of Adams' career was the signing of the Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776. In 1793, Samuel Adams
went on to be elected to serve as Governor of Massachusetts
and served until 1797. To this day, Adams is the oldest
Governor the state has ever seen, serving at age 75.
Samuel Adams retired in Boston
and, valuing his family more than anything, lived with
his daughter Hannah and died peacefully in 1803. |
|
|
Contact
Us:
American
Sons of Liberty
1142 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. #305
Diamond Bar, CA 91765 |
|
|
