Samuel Adams

Born in Boston in 1722, Samuel Adams became one of the best-known political leaders in colonial Massachusetts. He argued fiercely against British taxation and control, helped build networks of resistance, and played a major part in the movement that led to the American Revolution.

Adams is often linked with events such as the protests against the Stamp Act and the crisis that ended in the Boston Tea Party. He later served in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence, helping shape the cause of independence in its most uncertain years.

After the Revolution, he remained active in public life and eventually served as governor of Massachusetts. He died in 1803, leaving behind a reputation as a determined organizer, an influential patriot, and one of the important political voices of the founding era.