Samuel Adams

The Life of an American Revolutionary

By (author) John K. Alexander

Hardback - £55.00

Publication date:

16 May 2011

Length of book:

432 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742570337

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.
Students, scholars, and general readers will welcome this important new study of Samuel Adams. Indeed, this is the best biography yet of the man Jefferson called "the helmsman of the American Revolution." Alexander's extensive research supports his view that Adams, "more than anybody, consistently and ardently worked to convince Americans of the need for independence" and kept the revolutionary movement alive during the critical early 1770s. Alexander (Univ. of Cincinnati) considers Adams the US's first "modern politician" in that he made politics his lifelong occupation, grasped the political power of the media, and linked the towns of Massachusetts through committees of correspondence that ultimately became an effective intercolonial communications network. Adams has been eclipsed in US public memory by more famous founding fathers; many remember him now primarily as the fellow who brewed beer. But Alexander makes the case that Adams was one of the most significant of the country's founders and did as much as anyone to build an American republic dedicated to liberty and equality. This well-written book includes 51 pages of notes and an excellent 19-page bibliography to guide further study. Highly recommended. All university and major public libraries.