Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was:

• An American revolutionary; see Samuel Adams (American revolutionary).
  • Samuel Adams is also a brand of beer, named for the revolutionary; see Samuel Adams (beer).
• A United States naval officer; see Samuel Adams (naval officer).
• The acting Governor of Arkansas in 1844; see Samuel Adams (governor)

• An American football player; see Sam Adams (football player)
  
  

  ---

  
  
  

  Samuel Adams (American revolutionary)

  (From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

  Samuel Adams (September 27, 1722 - October 2, 1803) was an American revolutionary and organizer of the Boston Tea Party. He was also one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence (1776).
  
  (Larger version)

  Born to a wealthy Boston family, Adams attended Harvard College where he received a bachelor's degree in 1740 and a Master of Arts degree in 1743; prophetically, the subject of his master's thesis was "Whether it be lawful to resist the supreme magistrate if the commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved."

  After he completed his college education Adams and his father began a partnership in a brewery. Adams's father, however, soon lost most of his wealth due to the failure of an investment venture in paper currency, which was made illegal by the British government in 1744, thus exacerbating the family's dislike for the central government. The elder Adams died in 1748, and Samuel took full charge of the family brewery.

  Adams in the meantime became tax collector of Boston and was vocal in town meetings, which brought him significant political influence among his peers. When the brewery, never enormously profitable, failed in 1764, Adams began devoting himself full-time to political matters, first drafting the colony's negative response to the Sugar Act in May 1764, and the next year being elected to a seat in the Massachusetts colonial legislature (called the "general court"), where he immediately became a vocal opponent of the Stamp Act, even to the extent of helping to instigate Boston's Stamp Act riots of that year.

  While a member of the legislature Adams served as clerk of the house, in which capacity he was responsible for drafting written protests of various British governmental acts during his tenure, which continued to 1774. Notable among these was a circular letter he drafted as a response to the 1767 Townshend Acts, distributed among the other twelve colonies in a bid to achieve a united front of resistance to these acts. The failure of the legislature to rescind the contents of this letter at the express demand of King George is usually cited as one of the main factors resulting in the stationing of troops in Boston beginning in 1768.

  This British troop presence in Boston, aggravated by protest activities such Adams' formation of the Non-Importation Association, led to the Boston Massacre (a term coined by Adams) two years later. After the incident Adams chaired a town meeting which formed a petition, presented to acting governor Thomas Hutchinson, demanding the removal of two British regiments from Boston proper. Hutchinson at first claimed no responsibility for the matter, owing to his temporary status as governor, but stated he would be willing to move one regiment; the meeting was re-convened and Adams successfully urged the crowd of over 5,000 present to stand firm on the terms: "Both regiments or none!" Fearing open warfare, Hutchinson had both regiments removed to Castle William, an old fort on an island in Boston Harbor. These regiments would thereafter be known in the British Parliament as "The Sam Adams Regiments."

  In 1772, after a British declaration that judges should be paid by the Crown rather than by the colonial legislatures, a demand from the people of Boston for a special session of the legislature to reconsider this matter was refused by Hutchinson. It was at this point Adams devised a system of Committees of Correspondence, whereby the towns of Massachusetts would consult with each other concerning political matters via messages. Such a scheme was still technically legal under British law, but led to a de facto colonial legislative body. Dabney Carr of Virginia later proposed the adoption of this system throughout the thirteen colonies, which led eventually to the formation of the Continental Congress.

  Adams is perhaps best remembered for helping to organize, with William Molineux, the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, in response to the Tea Act. As British tea-ships sat in Boston Harbor awaiting payment of the import duties, Adams energized a large crowd gathered at the port with his oratory, and later donned costume and led a band of men aboard ship where they dumped the tea into the harbor, to the delight of the assembled spectators on shore.

  In response to this escapade, Parliament passed what were later to be known as the "Intolerable Acts," which called for the revocation of the colonial charter of Massachusetts and the closing of the port of Boston. Reaction from the colonies was to expedite the opening of a Continental Congress, and when the Massachusetts legislature met in Salem on June 17, 1774, Adams locked the doors and made a motion for the formation of a colonial delegation to attend the Congress. A loyalist member, faking illness, was excused from the assembly and immediately went to the governor, who issued a writ for the legislature's dissolution; however, when the legislator returned to find a locked door, he could do nothing.

  Adams was one of the major proponents of the Suffolk Resolves drafted in response to the Intolerable Acts, and adopted in September 1774. Also that month the Continental Congress held its first meeting, and Adams retired from the legislature and was sent to Philadelphia as a representative from the Massachusetts colony. During his time in the Congress he was from the beginning one of the most vocal proponents of independence. (Notably, only he and John Hancock were exempted from the general amnesty offered by Thomas Gage to Massachusetts rebels in 1775.) After signing the Declaration in 1776, Adams, wary of a strong central government, was instrumental in the development and adoption of the loose government embodied in the Articles of Confederation, to which he was also a signatory in 1777. He continued serving in the Congress until 1781, when he was elected to the state senate of Massachusetts. He served in that body until 1788, becoming its president.

  At the time of the drafting of the United States Constitution, Adams was considered an anti-federalist, but more moderate than others of that ilk. His contemporaries nicknamed him "the last Puritan" for his views; in 1788 he would write in his diary regarding the federalist and anti-federalist factions, "Neither Interest, I fear, display that Sobriety of Manners, Temperance, or Frugality—among other manly Virtues—which once were the Glory and Strength of our Christian Sparta on the Bay...". He finally came in on the side of ratification, with the stipulation that a bill of rights be added. Additionally, Adams was a member of the conventions that drafted the first Massachusetts state constitution in 1779, and the second one in 1788.

  He stood unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives for the first Congress, but was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1789-94. He was elected as governor in 1793 to succeed John Hancock, and served to 1797, afterwards retiring to his home in Boston.

  Adams died at the age of 81 and was interred at the Old Granary Burying Ground in Boston. Married twice, he had a son (who died in 1788) and a daughter by his first wife. He was distantly related to John Adams.

  Owing to his occupation as a brewer, today a popular brand of Boston beer bears his name.

  Quote

  If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

  

  External links

  • Wikiquote - Quotes by Samuel Adams
  • Writings of Samuel Adams on Project Gutenberg
    
    

    ---

    
    
    

    Samuel Adams (beer)

    (From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

    Samuel Adams is the brand name of an American beer, produced by the Boston Beer Company and named after brewer and patriot, Samuel Adams.

    The brand originally began with only one variety, Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The recipe for this beer was originally developed in Saint Louis, Missouri by Louis Koch in 1860 and sold under the name Louis Koch Lager until Prohibition, and again until the early 1950s.

    In 1985, Louis Koch's great-great grandson, Jim Koch, opened a brewery in Boston, Massachusetts and in April of that year re-introduced the beer under the Samuel Adams name. It was an immediate commercial success, voted "Best Beer in America" at the Association of Brewers' "Great American Beer Festival."

    As of 2003, the company produces eight varieties of beer year-round: Boston Lager, Boston Ale, Pale Ale, Cherry Wheat, Cream Stout, Triple Bock, Vienna Style, and Sam Adams Light. Additionally, the company brews five seasonal beers per year as follows:

    • Double Bock (January - March)
    • Spring Ale (January - March)
    • Summer Ale (May - August)
    • Octoberfest (August - October)
    • Winter Ale (October - February)

    The company also produced a 3,000-bottle limited run dubbed "Millennium."

    External link

    • Company website
      
      

      ---

      
      
      

      Samuel Adams (governor)

      (From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

      Samuel Adams (5 June 1805 - 27 February 1850) was a Democratic Governor of the State of Arkansas.

      Samuel Adams was born in Halifax County, Virginia. Adams was self-taught and moved to Arkansas in 1835. Adams became a planter and became active in Arkansas politics.

      In 1840 Adams was elected to the Arkansas Senate. He was reelected and served as president of the Senate during his second term.

      On 29 April 1844 Governor Archibald Yell resigned from his office to run for the United States House of Representatives. Adams became Governor of Arkansas and served until 5 November 1844.

      During his short term he focused on internal improvements and education and left a surplus in the state treasury.

      He was elected in 1846 to the office of State Treasurer and served in that position for the rest of his life.

      Samuel Adams died in Saline County, Arkansas. Adams is buried in the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

      Adams was stepfather of Civil War General James Fleming Fagan. An engraving of Samuel Adams graced Arkansas Civil War treasury notes.
      
      

      ---

      
      
      

      Samuel Adams (naval officer)

      (From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

      Samuel Adams (April 10, 1912 - June 5, 1942) was an officer in the United States Navy decorated for action in the Battle of Midway during World War II.
      
      (Larger version)

      Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Adams was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from the state's second Congressional district in 1931, and graduated in 1935 with an appointment to the rank of Ensign.

      Adams was then assigned to sea duty on battleships, serving aboard the West Virginia in June and July of 1935, immediately reassigned to the Tennessee until January 2, 1938. He was then accepted to flight school at NAS Pensacola, where he earned his flight wings on January 17, 1939.

      Soon promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.), Adams was then assigned to aircraft carrier duty, first aboard the USS Saratoga for one month (April-May 1939) and then with the Fifth Bomb Squadron (VB 5) aboard the Yorktown, from May 13, 1939 to the end of his career. While with Yorktown Adams flew Northrop BT-1s, later transitioning with the rest of the squadron to the Douglas SBD "Dauntless" aircraft, flying escort for North Atlantic convoys until U.S. entry to the war.

      After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yorktown was sent to the Pacific theater, and Adams took part in raids in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. He led raids on land and sea targets in and around Jaluit on February 1, 1942, against shipping off New Guinea on March 10, and on the island of Tulagi on May 4. He participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7 and 8. During this period Adams was twice awarded the Navy Cross.

      The attack on Pearl Harbor had been helped enormously by a group of six Japanese aircraft carriers, and these became a primary focus of U.S. naval efforts in the ensuing Pacific campaign. Four of these ships were part of a battle group involved in the Battle of Midway; three were put out of action in that battle on June 4, 1942. A fourth, the Hiryu, was left undamaged during the fight. At about 2:40 P.M. local time on June 5, Adams and his wingman, Lt. Harlan Dickson, spotted the Hiryu and her battle group (two battleships, three heavy cruisers and four destroyers). Under fire from a Zero fighter, Adams radioed the ships' location (31°15' N., 179°05' W., moving north at approximately 20 knots). Because of this, the U.S. battle group was able to put the Hiryu out of action, and major damage was inflicted on the rest of the battle group.

      On June 6, Adams spotted the Japanese destroyer Tanikaze and went in to attack; his plane disappeared in the clouds and was never seen again, presumed downed by anti-aircraft fire from the destroyer. Also killed in the attack was Adams's radioman Joseph Karrol.

      Adams was posthumously awarded a third Navy Cross for the mission in which he located the Hiryu. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Adams (DM-27), which saw duty in the latter part of World War II, was named in his honor.