The Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life

3. Samuel Adams: America’s Puritan Revolutionary

chapter 3 Samuel Adams America’s Puritan Revolutionary Gary Scott Smith The “Indispensable Man” Although scholars debate how important religion was to many of the nation’s founders, they unanimously agree that Samuel Adams was one of the most devout. If George Washington is the “indispensable man” in winning the Revolutionary War and insuring that the new republic succeeded, Adams may lay claim to this title with regard to the colonies’ decision to declare independence from England. He did much to publicize the colonists’ grievances, defend their rights, and mobilize them to protest English policies. In so doing, this staunch Congregationalist continually argued that their cause was righteous. If Americans pursued their aims virtuously, God, who providentially directed history, would enable them to gain their independence. Adams continually exhorted patriots to maintain their religious fervor and lead godly lives. Inspired by his understanding of Scripture and strong faith in God, Adams worked to achieve three principal aims: attain American independence, protect people’s 40 constitutional liberties, and construct an upright society.1 Fired by Puritan zeal and hatred of British rule, Adams used his political acumen and rhetorical skills to persuade many of his contemporaries to support independence.2 Samuel Adams was born on September 27, 1722, to Samuel and Mary Fifield Adams in Boston. His father owned a malt house and a wharf, and worked as a constable, tax assessor, selectman, justice of the peace, and representative to the Massachusetts Assembly. Samuel was educated at the Boston Latin School and at Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1740. During the 1740s and 1750s he earned a master of arts degree at Harvard, failed at a business enterprise, worked in the family brewery, wrote briefly for a newspaper, and served as a tax collector. Adams achieved little of note before age forty-two, but his life changed dramatically after the British decided to tax the colonies to raise revenue to fund their operations in North America. Upset by British intervention in American affairs, Adams organized Committees of Correspondence and helped lead the Boston Sons of Liberty. While serving as a member of the Massachusetts General Court from 1765 to 1774, he vigorously disputed British policies and agitated for independence primarily by writing legislative reports, publishing essays in the Boston Gazette, and organizing protests and boycotts. Adams served in the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1781, signed the Declaration of Independence , participated in the Massachusetts state constitutional conventions of 1779 and 1788, and was elected president of the Massachusetts state senate in 1781. He served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1789 to 1794 and as the state’s governor from 1794 to 1797. The “helmsman of American independence” died in Boston on October 2, 1803, at the age of eighty-one. In 1749 Adams married Elizabeth Checkley, the daughter of the pastor of Boston’s New South Church. Elizabeth, a very devout Christian, died three weeks after giving birth to their sixth child in 1757. Her grieving husband declared that she had run “her Christian race with a remarkable steadiness and finished in triumph.”3 In 1764 Adams married Elizabeth Wells, the daughter of a Boston merchant, who also shared his strong Christian faith. Samuel Adams | 41 “Truly the Man of the Revolution” His dogged determination and extraordinary political skills enabled Adams to play a pivotal role in the colonists’ decision to sever their ties with England and declare independence. He spearheaded the creation of the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence, which served as a model for other colonies, and led Boston’s economic warfare against England in response to the Coercive Acts of 1774. Through his speeches and private conversations Adams helped persuade many other colonial representatives to promote joint objectives.4 More than any other American, biographer Benjamin Irvin argues, “Adams was responsible for making the Revolution happen.”5 “Would youbelieve,”aBritishofficerwrotein1775,“thatthisimmensecontinent, from New England to Georgia, is moved and directed by one man!—a man of ordinary birth and desperate fortune?” Adams, the officer complained , had used his “talent for factious intrigue” to foment revolution. John Adams declared that his cousin had been “born and tempered a wedge of steel to split” the lifeline “which tied North America to Great Britain.”6 Some New England Tories denounced Adams as the “grand Incendiary” who ignited the colonial conflagration, and labeled Boston’s resistance “Adams’ conspiracy.”7 When Massachusetts royal governor...