Samuel Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 27, 1722. He was a second cousin of John Adams, the second president of the United States. After graduating from Harvard College in 1740, he failed at several kinds of business. He soon became an influential figure in local politics, however.

By the 1760s Adams was a powerful figure in the opposition to British authority in the colonies. In 1764 the British government passed the Sugar Act, which put a tax on molasses. In response, Adams argued that no Englishman should have to pay a tax that was not levied by his own elected representatives. The next year the British passed the Stamp Act, which required the colonists to pay taxes on important documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and other items. Adams organized protests in Boston against the new law.

Adams served in the lower house of the Massachusetts colonial legislature from 1765 to 1774. During this period he wrote many articles and letters to newspapers attacking British officials and laws. In 1772 he helped organize a “committee of correspondence” in Boston. This group kept in touch with committees elsewhere, coordinating anti-British activity.

Adams was among the first people to suggest that the American colonies needed to be completely independent from Great Britain. As a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses, he said that Americans must be ready for war if necessary. In 1776 he signed the Declaration of Independence. After the country gained its independence, he at first opposed the United States Constitution because he feared a strong central government. He dropped his opposition, however, when supporters of the document agreed to add amendments, including a bill of rights.

Adams served in various offices after the war. In 1794 he was elected governor of Massachusetts. But he was basically a revolutionary whose job was complete after independence had been won. Adams died on October 2, 1803.