- Samuel Adams
Thesis: Few people realize the effect Samuel Adams has had on our country, they know of him only that he was a politician at the time of the revolution, but he is indeed the father of American independence.
"Among those who signed the Declaration of Independence, and were conspicuous in the revolution, there existed, of course, a great diversity of intellectual endowments; nor did all render to their country, in those perilous days, the same important services. Like the luminaries of heavens each contributed his portion of influence; but, like them, they differed, as star differeth from star in glory. But in the constellation of great men, which adorned that era, few shone with more brilliancy, or exercised a more powerful influence than Samuel Adams." (Fradin 98)
People like to hear the story of Samuel Adams for two reasons. First it is a story of the greatest hero in American history full of much triumph and fighting for the common good. Also they like to hear of how he was a failure in every sense before he found exactly what his life 's calling was. Perhaps it gives people some hope for their own lives because he failed at every job he ever had and still became the greatest man in the history of this fine country.
Adams came from a fairly wealthy family that resided in Boston. The son of a merchant and maltster, Adams was a 1740 graduate of Harvard College. When at Harvard he publicly defended the thesis that it is
Cited: Page "Adams, Samuel." Encyclopedia Americana, Inc. 1990 ed. Carlson, Bill. "Samuel Adams." The Rhodes Family Genealogy Family Stories. Infotrac, 	1991. Fradin, Dennis. Samuel Adams. New York City: Clarion Books, 1998. Miller, Ann. "Samuel Adams." Lucidcafé Library, Inc. 	http://www.bena.com/lucidcafe/library/95sep/adams.html, 1995. Morris, John. "Adams, Samuel." The Reader 's Companion to American History. Electric 	Library, 1991.