Samuel Adams
By Andres Beteta, Jorel Olan, Nikhil Kesarla
Family History
Sam Adams was one of 12 children in the family but only 3 out of the 12 children survived. His parents were Puritans and were members of South Congregrational Church, which is where the Boston Tea Party was organized. They all lived in Boston, Massachusetts.
Political Affiliation
Though Samuel Adams was considered as a republican, his views were often a combination of both democratic and republican ideologies. Sam Adams' views all stemmed from the fact that he strongly believed that the colonies should be separated from Britain. Sam Adams was also part of the sons of liberty, which was a group that was dedicated to preserving colonial rights. Samuel Adams was a governor of Massachusetts, and also helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Most of Sam Adam’s views pertained to colonial rights, as he was one of the founding fathers of the United States and started the movement that became the American Revolution.
Contribution to/participation in colonial development/colonial independence
As Samuel Adams headed the American Revolution; he was one of the most important people in US history. As a result, he was involved in many events that would spur colonial independence. Sam Adams was very prominent because of his defense for colonial rights. Both the Sugar act and the Stamp act showed Adams’ outrage at the British. The Sugar act demanded more molasses for Britain and an increase in tax on those goods. Sam Adams was a prime protester against these acts; he argued that because the colonies were not represented in the parliament where the act was passed, then it was unjust for the parliament to tax the colonies. Because of Samuel Adam’s protesting and revolts that broke out because of this act, it was eventually repealed. The Stamp act was very similar to Sugar act in that it too required a tax on printed materials, and it too was repealed after Sam Adams spoke out against it. After these acts were repealed, the parliament looked for new ways to raise money, which came in the form of the Townshend acts. Though opposition to this grew slowly, Sam Adams eventually organized a nationwide boycott against it, forcing the Parliament to partially repeal it.
Integrity
- Integrity is defined as being honest and following strong and moral principles. Samuel Adams was a man with integrity, because he usually always stuck to what he believed in, even at the cost of his own life. For example, Samuel Adams lived in a time where the British constantly sought ways to tax its colonies and repress them. Instead of simply doing what Britain told him to do, he stuck to what he thought was right and sought American independence by organizing revolutions and boycotts.
- Sam Adams also showed integrity through the various taxes Britain placed on its colonies. Adams tirelessly worked to repeal these acts by sticking to his principles, and proved the the taxes Britain tried to pass on its colonies were unjust and immoral. This shows how Sam Adams always exhibited integrity and stuck to what he thought was right.
Citizenship
- Citizenship is defined as the duty of a citizen to his country. Samuel Adams was a key member of the Sons of Liberty, a group of American patriots that supported acts they believed were the best for the colonies, such as going against the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act imposed by the British government.
- Samuel Adams is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. He had a very long political career (60 years) in the colonies and came up with numerous significant contributions against the British oppression, including the "No taxation without representation" argument, a leading role in the Boston Tea Party, and signing the Declaration of Independance, which boosted his loyalty and citizenship to the newly founded nation.