SAMUEL ADAMS
While Patrick Henry was leading the people of Virginia in their defiance
of the Stamp Act, exciting events were taking place in Massachusetts under
another colonial leader. This was Samuel Adams. Even before Virginia took
any action, he had introduced in the Massachusetts Assembly resolutions
opposing the Stamp Act, and they were passed.
This man, who did more than any one else to arouse the love of liberty in
his colony, was born in Boston in 1722. His boyhood was quite different
from that of Patrick Henry. He liked to go to school and to learn from
books, and he cared little for outdoor life or sport of any kind.
[Illustration: Samuel Adams.]
As he grew up, his father wished him to become a clergyman, but Samuel
preferred to study law. His mother opposing this, however, he entered upon
business life. This perhaps was a mistake, for he did not take to
business, and, like Patrick Henry, he soon failed, even losing most of the
property his father had left him.
SAMUEL ADAMS AN INSPIRING LEADER
But although not skilful in managing his own affairs, he was a most loyal
and successful worker for the interests of the colony. In fact, before
long, he gave up most of his private business and spent his time and
strength for the public welfare.
His whole income was the very small salary which he received as clerk of
the Assembly of Massachusetts. This was hardly sufficient to pay for the
food needed in his household. But his wife was so thrifty and cheerful,
and his friends so glad to help him out because of the time he gave to
public affairs, that his home life, though plain, was comfortable, and his
children were well brought up.
Poor as he was, no man could be more upright. The British, fearing his
influence, tried at different times to bribe him with office under the
King and to buy him with gold. But he scorned any such attempts to turn
him aside from the path of duty.
The great purpose of his life seemed to be to encourage the colonists to
stand up for their rights as freemen, and to defeat the plans of King
George and Parliament in trying to force the colonists to pay taxes. In
this he was busy night and day. In the assembly and in the town meeting
all looked to him as an able leader; and in the workshops, on the streets,
or in the shipyards men listened eagerly while he made clear the aims of
the English King, and urged them to defend their rights as free-born
Englishmen.
Even at the close of a busy day, this earnest, liberty-loving man gave
himself little rest. Sometimes he was writing articles for the newspapers,
and sometimes urgent letters to the various leaders in Massachusetts and
in the other colonies. Long after midnight, those who passed his dimly
lighted windows could see "Sam Adams hard at work writing against the
Tories."
[Illustration: Patriots in New York Destroying Stamps Intended for Use in
Connecticut.]
Had you seen him at this time, you would never have thought of him as a
remarkable man. He was of medium size, with keen gray eyes, and hair
already fast turning white. His head and hands trembled as if with age,
though he was only forty-two years old and in good health.
He was a great power in the colony. Not only did he rouse the people
against the Stamp Act, but he helped to organize, in opposition to it,
societies of patriots called "Sons of Liberty," who refused to use the
stamps and often destroyed them. In Massachusetts, as in Virginia and
elsewhere, the people refused to buy any English goods until this hateful
act was repealed.
At the close of a year, before it had really been put into operation, the
act was repealed, as we have already seen. But this did not happen until
many resolutions had been passed, many appeals made to the King, and after
much excitement. Then great was the rejoicing! In every town in the
country bonfires were lighted, and every colonial assembly sent thanks to
the King.
But the obstinate, power-loving George III was not happy about this
repeal. In fact, he had given in very much against his will. He wanted to
rule England in his own way, and how could he do so if he allowed his
stubborn colonists in America thus to get the better of him?
So he made up his mind to insist upon some sort of a tax. In 1767,
therefore, only one year after the repeal of the Stamp Act, he asked
Parliament to pass a law taxing glass, lead, paper, tea, and a few other
articles imported into the colonies.
This new tax was laid, but again the colonists said: "We had no part in
levying it, and if we pay it, we shall be giving up our rights as freemen.
But how can we help ourselves?"
Samuel Adams and other leaders answered: "We can resist it just as we did
the Stamp Act--by refusing to buy any goods whatever from England." To
this the merchants agreed. While the unjust tax was in force, they
promised to import no English goods, and the people promised not to ask
for such goods.
Then many wealthy people agreed to wear homespun instead of English
cloths, and to stop eating mutton in order to have more sheep to produce
wool for this homespun, thus showing a willingness to give up for the
cause some of the luxuries which they had learned to enjoy.
Of course, this stand taken by the colonists angered the King. He called
them rebels and sent soldiers to Boston to help enforce the laws (1768).
From the first the people of Boston felt insulted at having these soldiers
in their midst, and it was not long before trouble broke out. In a street
fight at night the troops fired upon the crowd, killing and wounding a
number of men.
This caused great excitement. The next day, under the leadership of Samuel
Adams, the citizens of Boston demanded that all the soldiers should be
removed. Fearing more serious trouble if the demand was disregarded, the
officers withdrew the soldiers to an island in the harbor.
Still the feeling did not die down. The new taxes were a constant
irritation. "Only slaves would submit to such an injustice," said Samuel
Adams, and his listeners agreed. In Massachusetts and in other colonies
the English goods were refused, and, as in the case of the Stamp Act, the
English merchants felt the pinch of heavy losses, and begged that the new
tax laws be repealed.
SAMUEL ADAMS AND THE "BOSTON TEA PARTY"
Feeling grew stronger and matters grew worse until at length, after
something like three years, Parliament took off all the new taxes except
the one on tea. "They must pay one tax to know we keep the right to tax,"
said the King. It was as if the King's followers had winked slyly at one
another and said: "We shall see--we shall see! Those colonists must have
their tea to drink, and a little matter of threepence a pound they will
overlook."
It would have been much better for England if she had taken off all the
taxes and made friends with the colonists. Many leaders in that country
said so, but the stubborn King was bent upon having his own way. "I will
be King," he said. "They shall do as I say."
Then he and his followers worked up what seemed to them a clever scheme
for hoodwinking the colonists. "We will make the tea cheaper in America
than in England," they said. "Such a bargain! How can the simple colonists
resist it?" Great faith was put in this foolish plan.
But they were soon to find out that those simple colonists were only
Englishmen across the sea, that they too had strong wills, and that they
did not care half so much about buying cheap tea as they did about giving
up a principle and paying a tax, however small, which they had no part in
levying.
King George went straight ahead to carry out his plan. It was arranged
that the East India Company should ship cargoes of tea to Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, and Charleston.
In due time the tea arrived. Then the King's eyes were opened. What did he
find out about the spirit of these colonists? That they simply would _not_
use this tea. The people in New York and Philadelphia refused to let it
land, and in Charleston they stored it in damp cellars, where it spoiled.
But the most exciting time was in Boston, where the Tory governor,
Hutchinson, was determined to carry out the King's wishes. Hence occurred
the famous "Boston Tea Party,"--a strange tea-party, where no cups were
used, no guests invited, and no tea drunk! Did you ever hear of such a
party? Let us see what really happened.
It was on a quiet Sunday, the 28th of November, 1773, when the Dartmouth,
the first of the three tea ships bound for Boston, sailed into the harbor.
The people were attending service in the various churches when the cry,
"The Dartmouth is in!" spread like wild-fire. Soon the streets were alive
with people. That was a strange Sunday in Puritan Boston.
The leaders quickly sought out Benjamin Rotch, the owner of the Dartmouth,
and obtained his promise that the tea should not be landed before Tuesday.
Then they called a mass meeting for Monday morning, in Fanueil Hall,
afterward known as the "Cradle of Liberty."
[Illustration: Fanueil Hall, Boston.]
The crowd was so great that they adjourned to the Old South Church, and
there they overflowed into the street. There were five thousand in all,
some of them from near-by towns. Samuel Adams presided. In addressing the
meeting, he asked: "Is it the firm resolution of this body not only that
the tea shall be sent back, but that no duty shall be paid thereon?"
"Yes!" came the prompt and united answer from these brave men.
So the patriots of Boston and the surrounding towns, with Samuel Adams at
their head, were determined that the tea should not be landed. Governor
Hutchinson was equally determined that it should be. A stubborn fight,
therefore, was on hand.
The Boston patriots appointed men, armed with muskets and bayonets, to
watch the tea ships, some by day, others by night. Six post-riders were
appointed, who should keep their horses saddled and bridled, ready to
speed into the country to give the alarm if a landing should be attempted.
Sentinels were stationed in the church belfries to ring the bells, and
beacon-fires were made ready for lighting on the surrounding hilltops.
Tuesday, December 16, dawned. It was a critical day. If the tea should
remain in the harbor until the morrow--the twentieth day after
arrival--the revenue officer would be empowered by law to land it
forcibly.
[Illustration: Old South Church, Boston.]
Men, talking angrily and shaking their fists with excitement, were
thronging into the streets of Boston from the surrounding towns. By ten
o'clock over seven thousand had assembled in the Old South Church and in
the streets outside. They were waiting for the coming of Benjamin Rotch,
who had gone to see if the collector would give him a "clearance," or
permission to sail out of the port of Boston with the tea.
Rotch came in and told the angry crowd that the collector refused to give
the clearance. The people told him that he must get a pass from the
governor. Then the meeting adjourned for the morning.
At three o'clock in the afternoon a great throng of eager men again
crowded the Old South Church and the streets outside to wait for the
return of Rotch. It was an anxious moment. "If the governor refuses to
give the pass, shall the revenue officer be allowed to seize the tea and
land it to-morrow morning?" Many anxious faces showed that men were asking
themselves this momentous question.
[Illustration: The "Boston Tea Party."]
But while, in deep suspense, the meeting waited for Rotch to come they
discussed the situation, and suddenly John Rowe asked: "Who knows how tea
will mingle with salt water?" At once a whirlwind of applause swept
through the assembly and the masses outside. A plan was soon formed.
The afternoon light of the short winter day faded, and darkness deepened;
the lights of candles sprang up here and there in the windows. It was past
six o'clock when Benjamin Rotch entered the church and, with pale face,
said: "The governor refuses to give a pass."
An angry murmur arose, but the crowd soon became silent as Samuel Adams
stood up. He said quietly: "This meeting can do nothing more to save the
country."
These words were plainly a signal. In an instant a war-whoop sounded
outside, and forty or fifty "Mohawks," or men dressed as Indians, who had
been waiting, dashed past the door and down Milk Street toward Griffin's
Wharf, where the tea ships were lying at anchor.
It was then bright moonlight, and everything could be plainly seen. Many
men stood on shore and watched the "Mohawks" as they broke open three
hundred and forty-two chests, and poured the tea into the harbor. There
was no confusion. All was done in perfect order. But what a strange "tea
party" it was! Certainly no other ever used so much tea or so much water.
Soon waiting messengers were speeding to outlying towns with the news, and
Paul Revere, "booted and spurred," mounted a swift horse and carried the
glorious message through the colonies as far as Philadelphia.
SOME RESULTS OF THE "BOSTON TEA PARTY"
The Boston Tea Party was not a festivity which pleased the King. In fact,
it made him very furious. He promptly decided to punish the rebellious
colony. Parliament therefore passed the "Boston Port Bill," by which the
port of Boston was to be closed to trade until the people paid for the
tea. But this they had no mind to do. They stubbornly refused.
Not Boston alone came under the displeasure of King George and Parliament.
They put Massachusetts under military rule, with General Gage as governor,
and sent more soldiers. The new governor gave orders that the colonial
assembly should hold no more meetings. He said that the people should no
longer make their own laws, nor levy their own taxes. This punishment was
indeed severe.
With no vessels allowed to enter or leave the harbor and trade entirely
cut off, the people of Boston soon began to suffer. But the brave men and
women would not give in. They said: "We will not pay for the tea, nor will
we tell the King we are sorry for what we have done."
When the people of the other colonies heard of the suffering in Boston,
they sent wheat, cows, sheep, fish, sugar, and other kinds of food to help
out. The King thought that by punishing Boston he would frighten the other
colonies. But he was mistaken, for they said: "We will help the people of
our sister colony. Her cause is our cause. We must all pull together in
our resistance to King George and the English Parliament." So his action
really united the colonies.
In order to work together to better advantage, the colonies agreed that
each should send to a great meeting some of their strongest men to talk
over their troubles and work out some plan of united action. This meeting,
which was called the First Continental Congress, was held at Carpenters'
Hall, Philadelphia (1774).
Samuel Adams and his cousin, John Adams, were two of the four men that
Massachusetts sent. They began their journey from Boston in a coach drawn
by four horses. In front rode two white servants, well mounted and bearing
arms; while behind were four black servants in livery, two on horseback
and two as footmen. Such was the manner of colonial gentlemen.
[Illustration: Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia.]
As they journeyed through the country the people honored them in many
ways. From some of the larger towns officials and citizens rode out on
horseback and in carriages to meet them and act as escort; and on reaching
a town they were feasted at banquets and greeted by gleaming bonfires, the
ringing of bells, and the firing of cannon. These celebrations showed
honor not to the men alone but to the cause.
The First Continental Congress, to which these messengers were travelling,
urged the people to stand together in resisting the attempt of King George
and Parliament to force them to pay taxes which they had had no share in
laying. They added: "We have the right not only to tax ourselves, but also
to govern ourselves."
With all these movements Samuel Adams was in sympathy. He went even
further, for at this time he was almost or quite alone in his desire for
independence, and he has well been called the "Father of the Revolution."
Perhaps we think of him especially in connection with the Boston Tea
Party, but his influence for the good of his country lasted far beyond
that time.
Till the close of his life he was an earnest and sincere patriot. He died
in 1803, at the age of eighty-one years. Not an orator like Patrick Henry,
but a man of action like Washington, he had great power in dealing with
men. Truly his life was one of great and heroic service to his country.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. In what respects were Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry unlike as boys?
2. Tell why Samuel Adams had great power over men.
3. What kind of man was George III? Why did he so strongly desire that the
colonists should be compelled to pay a tax to England?
4. What was the tax law of 1767, and why did the colonists object to
paying the new taxes?
5. What led up to the "Boston Tea Party"? Imagine yourself one of the
party, and tell what you did.
6. In what way did George III and Parliament punish Boston for throwing
the tea overboard? How did the colonies help the people of Boston at this
time?
7. What was the First Continental Congress, and what did it do?
8. What do you admire in Samuel Adams?