When I was visiting Boston not too long ago and wherever you go, you can’t help but hear the name Sam Adams. Sure, the reference is to the Sam Adams Brewery but I wanted to find out a little bit more about the actual Samuel Adams, the American Patriot.

 

Beyond the brewery, Samuel Adams was an American statesman, a political philosopher and one of the Founding Fathers of our lovely United States. What I found surprising is that he indeed was a graduate of Harvard College but failed as a businessman.

 He was one of the many influential members of the movement opposed to the British Parliament’s attempt at taxing the British American colonies without representation or consent; hence the slogan “no taxation without representation” meaning in the House of Parliament.

Prior to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Adams along with his popular friends established a committee of correspondence system in 1772 in order to unite all of the American Patriots throughout each of the Thirteen Colonies, since a revolution was slowly brewing for this political party.

 What I find most interesting about the background and history of Adams is the great deal of controversy associated with this iconic figure in American history.

 

Some perceive Adams as a true emblem of justice and a hero of the revolution. Meanwhile, other view Adams as a manipulative master of propaganda who instigated mob violence in order to achieve his goals.

 The latter perspective stemmed from the fact that the history books claimed he was part of the fight for independence long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, which shows he may have fueled the revolution to mask his personal inconsistencies and failures.

Regardless of the interpretation for Adams’ true intentions, he played a key role in organizing resistance to the Coercive Acts and was selected as one of the five delegates to attend the First Continental Congress, a relatively big feat for someone with little money.

 Samuel Adams is a key figure and will always remain as one of the original American Patriots in ending British Parliament’s rule over the Thirteen Colonies that would ultimately grow to become the United States.