Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams may have been the most radical person in American history. He is often called the original radical. At first glance, he appeared as a very disorganized and incompetent man. He often wore the same set of clothes for a few days straight without washing them. With further inspection, one would notice that he is a little more than he appears on the outside. Adams was a well-known American patriot, which was a leader of the resistance to British policy before the American Revolution. Later, he became active in Boston politics, eventually being elected to the legislative body of Massachusetts in 1765 where he assumed leadership of the movement in Massachusetts that advocated independence from Great Britain.

Adams was very outspoken against the British government. He wrote essays for a local paper attacking the government. He enjoyed this, and became very good at it. In 1767 when the British government passed the Townshend Acts, Samuel Adams led a fight against them. These demonstrations led by Samuel Adams led to the Boston Massacre, on March 5, 1770. Due to the demonstrations and harassment towards the British soldiers, by the citizens, missiles were fired into the crowd, killing five men. In retaliation, Samuel Adams exploited this incident throughout the colonies. Samuel Adams created the Sons of Liberty, which was a group that protested the British government. Later he organized the Boston Tea Party. Boston citizens were protesting against the British tax on tea imported to the colonies. On the night of December 16, 1773, he directed the Sons of Liberty to disguise them selves as Mohawk Indians and dump thousands of dollars of tea into the Boston Harbor.

Though it may appear that Adams protested against the British government more than he helped to create the American government, he was involved greatly in the development of America. In 1774, at the First Continental Congress, which were a group of delegates from the original American colonies, Samuel Adams became the leader of the radical faction demanding strong measures against Great Britain. The First Continental Congress evolved into the revolutionary government that directed the war for independence. Adams was also a delegate in the Second Continental Congress in 1775. In May 1776, the Congress instructed the colonies to form their own government.