Samuel Adams the pen of the Revolution
85. Samuel Adams. While Patrick Henry was stirring the feelings of the people by his fiery eloquence, Samuel Adams was stirring them by strong arguments in his writings, to oppose the acts of king and of Parliament.
SAMUEL ADAMS
From the original painting by John Singleton Copley, representing Adams in 1771, now hanging in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
A student
Samuel Adams was born in Massachusetts (1722). While he loved school and books he cared very little for spending his time in outdoor amusements. At eighteen Samuel was graduated from Harvard College. His parents hoped that he would be a minister, but he began to study law. His mother was so opposed to his becoming a lawyer that he gave up the study and turned to business. He set up in business for himself, but, like Patrick Henry, soon lost all. He next went into business with his father, but in that, too, he failed. Finally Samuel Adams turned to politics.
Early love for politics
While a student in Harvard he had debated the question whether it was right to resist the king to save the country from ruin. He took an active part in debating clubs and very soon began to write for the newspapers, encouraging resistance. He never hesitated to take what he thought the right side of any question.
Why Adams opposed the Stamp Act