Samuel Adams

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Samuel Adams Autograph
Adams' grave in Boston

Samuel Adams (born September 16 July / September 27,  1722 greg. In Boston , Province of Massachusetts Bay , †  October 2, 1803 ibid) was an American statesman and revolutionary . He was an opponent of British colonial policy during the American War of Independence and one of the founding fathers of the United States . From 1794 to 1797 he was also governor of Massachusetts .

Life

Adams was one of twelve children of Samuel Adams Sr. (1689–1748) and his wife Mary Adams, b. Fifield (1694-1748). Her son attended Harvard College and began studying law after graduating in 1740. He then worked as an office worker and later became a businessman. In October 1749 he married Elizabeth Checkley (1725–1757), the daughter of his pastor. Together they had six children, but only two of them reached adulthood: Samuel (* 1751) and Hannah (* 1756). After Elizabeth's death, Adams married Elizabeth Wells (1735-1808) in 1764. This marriage remained childless.

After his father's death, Adams continued to run his parents' brewery . But 20 years later he had to give up the never very profitable business for good. Then he focused on politics . From 1756 he worked for eight years with little success as a tax collector in Boston. From 1765 to 1774 he was a member of the Lower House of the General Court of Massachusetts .

The current Samuel Adams beer brand from the Boston Beer Company does not go back to the brewery of that time.

Samuel Adams was one of the most important fighters for American independence and well known as a public speaker. He gained great popularity when he organized the Boston Tea Party on December 16 in 1773 . Later, as a member of the Continental Congress, he was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence .

In 1780, Samuel Adams was a founding member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

In 1789 he took over the post of lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, which he held until 1793. Then (1794-1797) he was governor of this state. He countered the efforts of the federalists around Alexander Hamilton , George Washington and John Adams to expand the powers of the central government; he joined the Democratic Republican Party .

Samuel Adams was the uncle of Congressman Joseph Allen (1749–1827) and great-uncle of Charles Allen (1797–1869), who was also a member of Congress. He was also a cousin of President John Adams .

In the Disney film Johnny Tremain (1957) directed by Robert Stevenson , based on the novel by Esther Forbes , Samuel Adams is played by Rusty Lane .

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Commons : Samuel Adams  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Adams, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American statesman and revolutionary
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1722
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1803
Place of death Boston , Massachusetts