Adams, John. James Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock: John Adams's Tributes To These As the Three Principal Movers and Agents of the American Revolution. Boston: Directors of the Old South Work, 1907.
ADAMS, Samuel
1722–1803
Biography
ADAMS, Samuel, (uncle of Joseph Allen; granduncle of Charles Allen; cousin of John Adams), a Delegate from Massachusetts; born in Boston, Mass., September 27, 1722; graduated from Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., 1740; M.A., Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., 1743; brewer; tax collector, Boston, Mass., 1756-1764; member of the Massachusetts general court, 1765-1774; member of the Continental Congress, 1774-1781; signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the Massachusetts state constitutional convention, 1779; president of the Massachusetts state senate, 1781; member of the Massachusetts state constitutional convention, 1788; unsuccessful candidate for election to the First Congress in 1788; lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, 1789-1794; governor of Massachusetts, 1794-1797; died on October 2, 1803, in Boston, Mass.; interment in Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
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The New York Public Library
Manuscripts and Archives Division
New York, NY
Papers:
1635-1826, 2.5 linear feet.
The collection consists of papers documenting Samuel Adams's public life and some family matters and includes correspondence, manuscripts of addresses, petitions, committee records, and other documents. Correspondence of Samuel Adams is with notable figures of the period in America and Europe and with family members. There are five volumes of manuscript copies of Samuel Adams papers, Massachusetts public documents, and pseudonymous articles submitted to Boston newspapers which probably were written by Samuel Adams. A finding aid is available in the repository. The collection is also available on microfilm.
Copley Press, Inc.
J. S. Copley Library
La Jolla, CA
Papers:
1779, 1 page.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Jonathan Trumbull written on February 10, 1779. Samuel Adams writes the letter while he was the Chairman of the Marine Committee to Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut.
Papers:
1784, 2 pages.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on April 23, 1784. Elbridge Gerry writes concerning a meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati where George Washington will preside, and expresses fear that the society will form a "hereditary military nobility."
Papers:
1785, 1 page.
A letter from Samuel Adams to an unidentified recipient written on February 26, 1785.
Papers:
1796, 2 pages.
A letter from Samuel Adams to the Magistrates of the County of Lincoln written on February 29, 1796. Samuel Adams writes to restore peace and order in the County of Lincoln after violence and the threats of death had been experienced by parties associated with land disputes.
Cornell University
Carl A. Kroch
Library
Ithaca, NY
Papers:
1783-1797, 4 items.
Correspondence from Samuel Adams to the House and Senate requesting appropriation of funds for troops. There is also correspondence regarding a petition from Dukes County concerning taxes.
Papers:
1800, 1 item.
A promissory note from Samuel Adams to John Langdon written on December 11, 1800. The promissory note is for the amount of $75.90.
Dartmouth College
Rauner Special Collections Library
Hanover, NH
Papers:
1776, 1 page.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Benjamin Franklin written on July 26, 1776. Samuel Adams thanks Benjamin Franklin for the loan of some papers.
Papers:
n.d., 1 page.
A letter from Samuel Adams to an unidentified recipient, signed under the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Library of Congress
Manuscripts Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
1635-1836, 2500 items.
The papers include photostats of correspondence and other papers in the New York Public Library.
The Library of Virginia
Archival and Information Services
Division
Richmond, VA
Papers:
1775, 2 pages.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Charles Dick, Charles Washington, and George Thornton written on March 1, 1775. Samuel Adams thanks them on behalf of the committee appointed to receive and distribute donations made to the citizens of Boston as a result of the Boston Port Bill passed by Parliament in 1774.
Middlebury College
Special Collections, Abernethy
Library
Middlebury, VT
Microfilm:
1635-1859, 5 reels.
The papers include drafts of letters by Samuel Adams, chiefly on public affairs, instructions to delegates and congressmen, addresses to the Governor of Massachusetts, petitions, governors' messages, papers of the Boston Committee of Correspondence and of other local committees, and proceedings of committees of the Continental Congress and other public bodies. The papers also include correspondence between Samuel Adams and his wife, Elizabeth Wells Adams. The original papers are in the New York Public Library.
The Morgan Library
Department of Literary and Historical
Manuscripts
New York, NY
Papers:
1778, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on January 13, 1778. Samuel Adams writes to introduce Baron de Steuben.
Papers:
1782, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on May 31, 1781. Samuel Adams writes concerning running for Congress.
Papers:
1789, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on August 20, 1789. Samuel Adams writes concerning Mr. Devens.
Ohio Historical Society
Columbus, OH
Papers:
1743, 1 item.
A document from August 15, 1743, concerning the sale of land in Durham, New Hampshire Province, between Samuel Adams and John Wille, Jr.
The Rosenbach Museum & Library
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
1776, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on January 2, 1776. Samuel Adams writes concerning the necessity of keeping the military under civilian authority, the solidarity of the House of Representatives against "the enemies of America," the dangers of "riches or want of them" becoming a dominant factor in elections, the manufacture of saltpeter in Massachusetts, and the plans for a powder mill he has sent to Paul Revere.
Papers:
1783, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Thomas McKean written on April 19, 1783. Samuel Adams sends congratulations on the end of the Revolutionary War, formally announced that day, and introduces Mr. Appleton and Mr. Wendell.
Yale University
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
Library
New Haven, CT
Papers:
1789, 1 item.
A letter from Samuel Adams to Elbridge Gerry written on August 22, 1789. Samuel Adams writes concerning states' rights.
Yale University Library
Microform Reference
New Haven, CT
Microfilm:
1635-1857, 5 reels.
The papers include drafts of letters by Samuel Adams, chiefly on public affairs, instructions to delegates and congressmen, addresses to the Governor of Massachusetts, petitions, governors' messages, papers of the Boston Committee of Correspondence and of other local committees, and proceedings of committees of the Continental Congress and other public bodies. The papers also include correspondence between Samuel Adams and his wife, Elizabeth Wells Adams. The original papers are in the New York Public Library
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Bibliography / Further Reading
Adams, Samuel. The Writings of Samuel Adams. 4 volumes. Edited by Harry Alonzo Cushing. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904-1908.
___. Samuel Adams, Selections From His Writings, Edited, With An Introduction, by Elizabeth Lawson. New York: International Publishers, 1946.
Alderman, Clifford L. Samuel Adams, Son of Liberty. New York: Holt, 1961.
Alexander, John K. Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
Archer, Jules. "The Sly Fox... Sam Adams." In his They Made a Revolution: 1776, 9-26. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1973.
Beach, Stewart. Samuel Adams: The Fateful Years, 1764-1776. New York: Dodd, 1965.
Burgan, Michael. Samuel Adams: Patriot and Statesman. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2005.
Canfield, Cass. Samuel Adams' Revolution, 1765-1776, with the Assistance of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, George III and the People of Boston. New York: Harper, 1976.
Chidsey, Donald B. World of Samuel Adams. Nashville: Nelson, 1974.
Davis, Kate. Samuel Adams. San Diego, CA: Blackbirch Press, 2002.
Edwards, Gregory John. "'Righteousness Alone Exalts a Nation:' Protestantism and the Spirit of the American Revolution." Ph.D. diss., State University of New York at Buffalo, 2002.
Fallows, Samuel. Samuel Adams, A Character Sketch by Samuel Fallows with Anecdotes, Characteristics, and Chronology. Chicago: University Association, 1898.
___. Samuel Adams, A Character Sketch by Samuel Fallows...With Supplementary Essay by G. Mercer Adam...Together with Anecdotes, Characteristics, and Chronology by I. B. Vaughan and Others. Milwaukee, WI: H. G. Campbell Publishing, Co., 1903.
Fowler, William M. Samuel Adams: Radical Puritan. New York: Longman, 1997.
Fradin, Dennis B. Samuel Adams: The Father of American Independence. New York: Clarion Books, 1998.
Fritz, Jean. Why Don't You Get A Horse, Sam Adams? New York: Coward, McCann, & Geoghegan, 1974.
Galvin, John R. Three Men of Boston. New York: Crowell, 1976.
Gerson, Noel B. Grand Incendiary: A Biography of Samuel Adams. New York: Dial, 1973.
Gillis, Jennifer B. Samuel Adams. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2005.
Green Margaret. Radical of the Revolution: Samuel Adams. New York: J. Messner, 1971.
Guedalla, Philip. "Mr. Samuel Adams." In his Fathers of the Revolution, 235-249. New York: Putnam's, 1926.
Harlow, Ralph V. Samuel Adams, Promoter of the American Revolution: A Study in Psychology and Politics. New York: Octagon Books, 1975.
Heinrichs, Ann. Samuel Adams: Father of the Revolution. Chanhassen, MI: Child's World, 2004.
Hosmer, James Kendall.. Samuel Adams. Introduction by Pauline Maier. New York: Chesea House, 1980.
___. Samuel Adams, The Man of the Town-Meeting. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1884.
Hubbard, Elbert. "Samuel Adams." In his Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, vol. 3, 77-95. Chicago: W.H. Wise, 1916.
Irvin, Benjamin H. Samuel Adams: Son of Liberty, Father of Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Jones, Veda Boyd. Samuel Adams: Patriot. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.
Kallen, Stuart A. Samuel Adams. Edina, MN: Abdo & Daughters, 2001.
Lee, Susan. Sam and John Adams, by Susan & John Lee. Illustrated by Chuck Mitchell.Chicago, IL: Children's Press, 1974.
Lewis, Paul. The Grand Incendiary, A Biography of Samuel Adams. New York: Dial Press, 1973.
Lodge, Henry C. "Samuel Adams." In his A Frontier Town and Other Essays, 128-161. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906.
Magoon, Elias L. "Samuel Adams." In his Orators of the American Revolution, 95-120. New York: Charles Scribner, 1853.
Maier, Pauline. "Coming to Terms with Samuel Adams." American Historical Review 81 (February 1976): 12-37.
___. "A New Englander as Rev-lut-ionary: Samuel Adams." In her The Old Revolutionaries, 3-50. New York: Knopf, 1980.
Marson, Philip. "Voices of Freedom: James Otis and Samuel Adams." In his Yankee Voices, 89-134. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman, 1967.
McMahon, John E. "Dividing the Kingdom: John Cleaveland, Samuel Adams, and the Rationale for Revolution in Eighteenth-Century New England." Ph.D. diss., Clark University, 2004.
Miller, John C. Sam Adams: Pioneer in Propaganda. Boston: Little, Brown, 1936.
Myers, J. Jay. "Sam Adams: The Greatest Saboteur." In his The Revolutionists, 1-13. New York: Washington Square Press, 1971.
Nicholas, Edward. "The Puritans." In his Hours and the Ages, 61-94. New York: W. Sloane Associates, 1949.
O'Toole, James M. "The Historical Interpretations of Samuel Adams." New England Quarterly 49 (March 1976): 82-96.
Parrington, Vernon L. "Sam Adams: The Mind of the American Democrat." In his Main Currents in American Thought, vol. 1, 233-247. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1927.
Puls, Mark. Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006.
Rich, Andrea. Rhetoric of Revolution: Samuel Adams, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X. Durham, N.C.: Moore, 1970.
Richardson, Fayette. Sam Adams: The Boy Who Became Father of the American Revolution. New York: Crown Publishers, 1975.
Sanderson, John. "Samuel Adams." In Sanderson's Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, edited by Robert T. Conrad, 67-80. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait,1848.
Seccombe, Matthew. "From Revolution to Republic: The Later Political Career of Samuel Adams, 1774-1803." Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1978.
Smith, Arthur Lee, Jr. "Samuel Adams' Agitational Rhetoris of Revolution." Ph.D. diss., University of California Los Angeles, 1968.
Somerville, James Karl. "Patriot Moralist: An Intellectual Portrait of Samuel Adams." Ph.D. diss., Case Western Reserve University, 1965.
Sparks, Edwin E. "Sam Adams, the Man of the Town Meeting." In hisThe Men Who Made the Nation, 47-78. New York: Macmillan, 1901.
Stanley, Owen R. "Samuel Adams: A Case Study in the Strategies of Revolution." Ph.D. diss., Washington State University, 1975.
Thacher, Thomas. A Tribute of Respect to the Memory of Samuel Adams. Dedham, Mass.: Mann, 1804.
Townsend, Charles Ray. "The Thought of Samuel Adams." Ph.D. diss., The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1968.
Umbreit, Kenneth B. "Samuel Adams." In his Founding Fathers: Men Who Shaped Our Tradition, 175-199. 1941. Reprint edition, Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press Co., 1969.
Warren-Adams Letters, Being Chiefly A Correspondence Among John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Warren, 1743-1814. Two Volumes. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1917-1925.
Wells, William V. Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams. 2d ed. 3 vols. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries, 1969.
Wildman, Edwin. "Samuel Adams: Who Organized the Revolutionary Idea." In his Founders of America, 27-45. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries, 1968.
Wright, Esmond. "The Man from Harvard College." In his Time for Courage, 30-40. New York: Putnam's, 1971.