When most people today think of Sam Adams, they think of a beer. Even history teachers probably aren’t giving enough coverage to Adams – he’s a footnote in the book, if there at all.Yet, he was the heart of the origin of the American Revolution. The same words he used in Massachusetts in 1770 – “pursuit of life, liberty, and property” – were used by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His advocating of basic rights in the Massachusetts constitutional convention were echoed – in the Bill of Rights. He was on the ‘arrest or kill’ list of the Crown in 1774 and beyond. Who were the redcoats after when they marched on Lexington and Concord? The man that they had been stopping and questioning people about throughout Massachusetts – Sam Adams.
Adams wrote, spoke, and led the way toward independence.
While many biographies are dealing with cousin John Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington – Sam Adams has been sorely overlooked, and relegated to the dust-bin of history, a name scarcely remembered.
Ira Stoll’s biography Samuel Adams: A Life corrects that with a great portrayal of a drama-filled life – the stuff that movies could be made of. The influences on Adams’ life – his family, his religion, his passion for freedom from the British – are all well documented and written. The book is engaging and portrays the life of the time.
While colonial history has not been my strongest area of interest, when I saw the book I knew it had to be on my to-read list. I am glad it made it. The best part: our county library system has a copy, which is where I got my copy from.
If you have an opportunity to read the book, by all means do so knowing that it is… revolutionary!
Some reviews on the book:
Boston Globe
Barnes and Noble Review
New York Post
The Spiked Review of Books
Essential Question: How can we best encourage the students to discover the motivations and beliefs of the Founding Fathers?
The Spiked Review of Books
Essential Question: How can we best encourage the students to discover the motivations and beliefs of the Founding Fathers?
2 comments:
Nice review. And I agree; Sam Adams is a founder that should be remember more, and not just as a name.
He's not been styled "the father of the Revolution" for nothing.
Thanks for posting.
I agree - but as I keep doing the periodic posts on my Great Lives blog, I notice that many of the Founding Fathers gave up an awful lot to pursue independence. George Clymer hid in the woods while the British trashed his house - and there are many stories like that. I wonder what we are willing to give up to keep our independence today?
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