Samuel Adams : the life of an American revolutionary

Samuel Adams: The Life of an American Revolutionary vividly tells the story of a titan of America's greatest generation. Friend and foe alike considered Adams one of the greatest members of the generation that achieved American independence and crafted constitutions that made the ideal of republican government a living reality in the new nation. Adams's role as a major political author and organizer are explored as is his central role in momentous events including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The work demonstrates why Thomas Jefferson described Adams as the helmsman of the American Revolution. Adams's career during the war and his involvement in crafting and defending republican constitutions are assessed as are his views on virtue, religion, education, women, and slavery. Following Adams through the 1790s, one sees that he wanted the revolutionary generation to bequeath a land of liberty and equality to the nation's posterity. The personal side of this revolutionary who was renowned for his lack of concern for material things is not neglected. The symbiotic relationship of Samuel and his wife Elizabeth is analyzed. The work demonstrates that Adams's life provides a veritable guide to responsible citizenship and public service in a republic. - Publisher. Tells the story of a titan of America's revolutionary generation. Friend and foe alike considered Adams one of the greatest members of the generation that achieved American independence and crafted constitutions that made the ideal of republican government a living reality in the new nation. Adams's role as a major political author and organizer are explored as is his central role in momentous events including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The work demonstrates why Thomas Jefferson described Adams as the helmsman of the American Revolution. Adams's career during the war and his involvement in crafting and defending republican constitutions are assessed as are his views on virtue, religion, education, women, and slavery. Following Adams through the 1790s, one sees that he wanted the revolutionary generation to bequeath a land of liberty and equality to the nation's posterity. The personal side of this revolutionary who was renowned for his lack of concern for material things is not neglected. The symbiotic relationship of Samuel and his wife Elizabeth is analyzed. The work demonstrates that Adams's life provides a veritable guide to responsible citizenship and public service in a republic "Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician offers a fresh, full-life biography of the man Thomas Jefferson once described as the helmsman of the American Revolution. In this study, historian John K. Alexander uses narrative history to argue that Samuel Adams was both America's first professional politician and its first modern politician. Adams, Alexander argues, was an unwavering politician who strove to protect the people's basic rights and who emphasized the importance of virtue, liberty, a sense of duty, and education in fashioning a republican society. Alexander's fresh reading of Adams' record and a close look into his personal life uncover a masterful politician and a man consistent in his beliefs."--BOOK JACKET. This full-life biography includes analysis of Adams's education, political philosophy, religious attitudes, social values, and family relationships. While his extraordinary role in achieving American independence is closely analyzed, the post-independence period, including his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, is not neglected. The core theme is that Adams was unflinchingly committed to promoting and defending republican constitutions and ideals. He wanted the revolutionary generation to bequeath a land of liberty and equality to the nation's posterity. The failure of promise The people shall be heard The lurking serpent The politics of principle The great incendiary confronts the quiet period Britain miscalculates and the great incendiary strikes The helmsman of American independence "Zealous in the great cause" : winning independence "The principles of liberty" : the Massachusetts scene "An idolator of Republicanism" and the nation's constitution "The consistent republican" in the turbulent 1790s Epilogue : "The patriarch of liberty" About the author