Adams, Samuel

(1722–1803) , politician, Revolutionary leader; born in Boston, Mass. (second cousin of John Adams). After studying law, he failed at several business enterprises, then devoted himself to politics. One of the first and most outspoken colonists to oppose British laws and policies, in the Massachusetts legislature (1765–74) he promoted corresponding with other colonies' leaders, wrote newspaper articles criticizing British rule, and composed and circulated a declaration of colonists' rights. He helped organize the Boston Tea Party (1773) and by 1774 was advocating open resistance to Britain. He served in the First and Second Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. At first he backed George Washington as commander-in-chief, but he criticized what he thought was an overly cautious pursuit of the war. Regarded as too radical by many, he resigned from Congress in 1781 but supported the Federal Constitution of 1787. He was governor of Massachusetts (1794–97).

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Adams, Samuel

Born Sept. 29, 1722; died Oct. 2, 1803. American political figure and one of the organizers of the struggle for liberation during the War for Independence in North America of 1775–83 (the American Revolution).

In 1743, Adams issued a thesis in which he developed the idea of the “legality of resistance to higher authorities.” Adams was a leader of the revolutionary organization Sons of Liberty. He established a committee of correspondence in Boston (1772) that became the model for other such committees throughout the British colonies, these becoming the embryos of local revolutionary power. After the war for independence, Adams advocated the adoption of the Bill of Rights and the abolition of slavery. From 1794 to 1797 he was governor of the state of Massachusetts.

WORKS

The Writings of Samuel Adams, vols. 1–4. Edited by H. A. Cushing. New York, 1904–08.