My traveling read: Samuel Adams
posted at 9:52 am on November 23, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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I’m in Southern California for the next nine days for Thanksgiving with the family and the annual Notre Dame/USC game, and as I usually do, I took a book to read on my travels. I don’t get time to do much book reading, and travel gives me a little more down time. For this trip, I chose Samuel Adams: A Life by Ira Stoll, the former managing editor of the late, lamented New York Sun.
On the flight, I managed to get through a quarter of the 300 pages, which is remarkable if you take into account that I hate flying and every bump distracts me. It’s difficult to get distracted by Ira’s excellent recounting of a patriot somewhat lost to time. Most people know Sam Adams as a beer — and a darned fine beer at that. But as one of Adams’ obituaries stated, to tell his story really means telling the entire story of the revolution.
Why did Adams get mostly forgotten? He was a zealot, for one thing, and zealots have gone out of fashion. In an age of cynics and hip irony, Adams’ passion for liberty and freedom would make many people uncomfortable. Adams based his zealotry on two other old-fashioned principles: religious faith and a belief in private property.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this biography and discovering Adams as a historical figure. I’m especially intrigued by Adams’ prolific writings under several pseudonyms as political activism. Adams would have been quite at home in the blogosphere, I believe.
I’d call this one a must-read for those interested in the underlying basis of our revolution and the philosophy of our founding fathers.
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how i wish a man like this were alive today!
“….crouch down and lick the hands wich feed you, may your chains sit light upon your neck…”
i used some Samuel Adams in a metal song about the revolution.
palefaced on November 23, 2008 at 9:58 AM
I read David McCullough’s biography of John Adams, and I got the impression from that book that John did not much care for his cousin Sam. He thought him to be a demagogue.
Terrye on November 23, 2008 at 9:59 AM
There are so many unsung heroes of the Revolution:
George Mason and John Witherspoon are two that immediately come to mind.
But, in “gubmit” education the Revolution and Founding Documents and the Founding Fathers (and their Christianity) are rated as deserving of maybe a passing comment. And that comment would include that they were evil white slave owning men that denuded the environment, killed the natives and had large carbon footprints.
Amendment X on November 23, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Demagogue or not, Sam Adams was a patriot. And we would be wise to remember the 11th commandment even today. We will need every patriot in the next 4 years.
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:08 AM
He’s not forgotten. Why, I have a picture of him in my fridge right now.
Six pictures, in fact.
Well, five now.
ExUrbanKevin on November 23, 2008 at 10:12 AM
You know who this helps? Ron Paul.
lodge on November 23, 2008 at 10:13 AM
If you actually mean you are afraid of flying, you should learn to fly. That cured me, now I love it. You will too.
DarkCurrent on November 23, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Well, it sure could help Ron Paul, but we need to take all the good ideas from everyone & make a cohesive doctrine from that that cries out “liberty.”
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Wow, you are too fast for me, beat me by 8 minutes!
Red State State of Mind on November 23, 2008 at 10:19 AM
You know who this helps? Ron Paul.
lodge on November 23, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Come on! Don’t be insulting Sam. I doubt that Sam was like Ron Paul. Ron Paul has been taking to much of his own drugs! The man is not in there. Sam was a great man. Not to many people even know his name. Or what he stood for. The real History is not even taught anymore. Thanks Ed. Have a happy Turkey Day!! And a nice Ca. time. Looks like we get a heat break today!
sheebe on November 23, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Ron Paul wants to take us back to the 18th century, which is exactly where we need to go.
lodge on November 23, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Isn’t it ironic, when I was in school, these writings of the founding fathers was required reading and there were many discussions as to what it meant to us and the nation as a whole. Now if you asks a student in my area about Samuel Adams, they will reply with “great beer”. So sad.
N4646W on November 23, 2008 at 10:22 AM
If anyone saw the John Adams miniseries, Adams says, “God save the king,” to which Sam replies “God damn the king.”
He’s my favorite founder. Not fully forgotten; has anyone read Pauline Maier’s books? Are they good/bad?
emailnuevo on November 23, 2008 at 10:27 AM
With the help of ancestry.com I’ve learned that Samuel Adams is my 13th great grand father. GREAT book Ed, I just finished it earlier this week. What sticks out to mee is Adams’ dedication to the cause and his complete lack of interest in garnering wealth or fame for his efforts. He truly is the father of the American revolution, and we need another man like him NOW.
cannonball on November 23, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Kids aren’t taught freedom in school. My teenage kids and I have discussed this at length a few times.
Crazy – it’s okay to be a zealot for the Green Bay Packers, but not for liberty.
beatcanvas on November 23, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Another early Patriot never to be forgotten but to often is, Crispus Attucks.
Dragoonchris on November 23, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Same here. Our founders were rare men of courage and honor; they were noble. I wonder if there are many–if any–today who can say the same (except for our military).
beachgirlusa on November 23, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Adams was a genius re: community organizing. He planned counter moves for every potential loyalist response to his actions. He used the power of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING to spread the word in a time before mass communication. He recognized the need for the colonies to work together, yet he also recognized the rules of the game and engaged the King and loyalist governors every step of the way. He made fools of them as well, but they were clueless to his manipulation. Much of the Declaration is based on Adams’ writings.
cannonball on November 23, 2008 at 10:31 AM
The biggest surprise in the book for me was the tension between Adams and John Hancock. Hancock expected to be named leader of the army and was quite upset when Washington got the nod with Adam’s approval.
cannonball on November 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM
I just finished reading Walter Issacson’s “Benjamin Franklin.” I highly recommend it. I’m sometimes awestruck by the sheer number of genius’s this country was endowed with at the time of the revolution. Maybe it was because they were educated during the age of enlightenment when reason rather than passion was valued. People were taught how to think. Contrast that with the present day when feeling good about Obama was sufficient justification to vote for him.
NNtrancer on November 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM
It would do the Conservative movement well to commemorate unsung American heroes from our country’s heritage. That their biographies are documented for modern reading is great. A John Adams national memorial should be erected to benefit inclusive reflection from illiterates, children and elitists alike. Such a memorial should document his life of service for the rule of law to benefit public welfare, not merely his presidency.
BTW, the term “public welfare” has been corrupted by neo-liberal Progressives who have ruined vocabulary/definition via new think “newspeak” Democrat legislation and presidential initiatives from Wilson, FDR, and LBJ “all the way” to “compassionate” GWB. Of course Adams’ leadership and concern for the public welfare did NOT direct today’s contemporary neo-liberal authoritarian ideology promoting the elitist Big Brother and the burdensome welfare state of socialism. And it isn’t as if our Founding Fathers were unaware of socialism, as they were Classically and Liberally well read and knew of Jean Jacques Rousseau (Geneva, 28 June 1712 – Ermenonville, 2 July 1778)and his Social Contract of 1762.
maverick muse on November 23, 2008 at 10:34 AM
I don’t read anymore when I travel. Now I download movies onto my iPhone and watch them. I’ve become very lazy since I hit 40 a few years back.
Tommy_G on November 23, 2008 at 10:35 AM
The book is also available unabridged at audible.com. Thanks for pointing to this book, Ed, I purchased it today. Can’t wait to take it in. If it’s as good as it sounds, we’ll add it to our Christmas List:
We decided yesterday that for Christmas this year, we are giving the yutes in our family ipods preloaded with mandatory listening. (Liberal Fascism leads the list).
RushBaby on November 23, 2008 at 10:36 AM
Sam Adams wrote about the Rights of the Colonists before the Revolution and it is fascinating to see how much of that made it into the Declaration… and what was left out. We apparently forget the divisions in Christian faith at the Founding and how, while all being Christians, did not approach their faith in the same way. Indeed their inter-disdain was something to marvel at and how they could put that aside, using the teachings of Westphalia as a guide, to form a common government. It was the devoutly religious who wanted government to have no say in religion, and for good cause as they had their history lessons on the 30 Years War to remind them how that sort of thing goes. I am pretty tired of our modern believers trying to twist that around and put forth a form of Christianity that did not exist at the founding – it may have common text but it did not have common agreement as to meaning. Yet, for all that, we would see Unitarians like Adams (both J and JQ) and Jefferson elected as President. By the time of Taft he was receiving flack for being a Unitarian, which shows a retrograde movement in belief and a move towards intolerance. Thus, readin Sam Adams, you are reminded of those times and views and how there was more than a little in the way of bias and discrimination amongst Christians then… and how they still worked together to form a Nation.
ajacksonian on November 23, 2008 at 10:40 AM
That, along with Remini’s biography of Andrew Jackson is most definitely on my reading list for the holdidays. As Ed pointed out, one of the reasons Samuel Adams is not mentioned in the same breath as John or Thomas Jefferson or the other Founding Fathers is that his talents really were not geared towards building a nation or governance–his stints in government were really very poor. His role was to light the spark that got the Revolution going–and he did an excellent job at doing that.
Matt Helm on November 23, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Let me apologize for my ignorance of many of the founding fathers who were not from Virginia. We had so many from Virginia that we studied in school, that we ignored the others.
kelley in virginia on November 23, 2008 at 10:43 AM
If Sam Adams were alive and blogging today, he’d be first on the list of people to be shipped off to the re-education camps next year.
Bruce in NH on November 23, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Sam Adams was the perfect man for job he did leading up to the Revolution. He deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his part. Though, respectfully, I don’t think forgotten is correct, kids still learn the Boston Tea party just like they learn Revere.
Ha, awesome.
Unfortunately the mode would be capitulation to terror. Plus who needs more racist screeds.
Spirit of 1776 on November 23, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Can’t we just clone these guys back to life?
Shy Guy on November 23, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Our Founding Fathers BALANCED reason with passion. They did not eschew passion, nor did they defy reason. Their genius was in their creative invention, our unique Constitutional government of the USA.
Revising genius in order to facilitate mediocrity and corruption is the work of Socialism and all progressives in search of obscene power to destroy what is traditionally established “good” and what has been retained over the centuries because it is good.
Today’s socialists seek the return of the authoritarian feudal system, having imposed their own revised authentic/inauthentic leadership in place of the old guard’s illegitimate “divine right” aristocratic elitism. The destruction of the “middle class” must occur in order for the masters to dominate the serfs. Russian heritage has all of that down pat. Having individually and collectively drowned in socialism, though the EU has seen the light and is now attempting to rectify the self inflicted wounds of socialism, Europe must overcome its own death and resurrect in order to survive its status. Europe is not alone in its opportunist search for easy pickings off the benevolent American, as we are also beset by authoritarian Asia, South America and Islam (Muslim nations). That the majority of voters have succeeded in prostituting the USA as another socialist nation will garner nothing but more pain, suffering and victimization.
maverick muse on November 23, 2008 at 10:55 AM
They all would, along with all of us that read them.
N4646W on November 23, 2008 at 10:56 AM
A favorite Sam Adams quote:
We are at this moment in history surrendering our liberties to the internal invaders, and by recent judges decisions, surrendering our liberties to the external invaders. Why? Because virtue is declared a vice by our culture and knowledge has been replaced by revisionist history and propaganda by our secular schools and the liberal media.
Christian Conservative on November 23, 2008 at 11:00 AM
As I recall, Sam Adams was quite wealthy.
John Adams on the other hand was much closer to his farming roots then Sam. As such I think John often felt that Samuel was a demagogue in the sense that he felt Samuel Adams was an elitist masquerading as a champion of the common man.
Also, John Adams was a Unitarian, but he was a very devout one. Having been raised Congregationalist is also very evident in his values.
Sackett on November 23, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Sam was a tax cheat…Tax Cheats are my heroes. So Sam is a hero to me.
Tim Burton on November 23, 2008 at 11:14 AM
As a supplement to biographies of our Founding Fathers I highly recommend “Honorable Treachery” by George J. A. O’Toole. The CIA historian chronicles the history of U.S. covert action from George Washington to the Bay of Pig. I give it 5 stars.
Zorro on November 23, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Long Live The Sons Of Liberty!!
Viper1 on November 23, 2008 at 11:45 AM
I wish conservative thinkers would get out of their think tank ivory towers and design a high school course on The Founders and their Principles and then push to get them in schools. After all, we already have a textbook with Obama in it!
They were revolutionary ideas then and many other countries have seen them as inspirational–why can’t we?
PattyJ on November 23, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Reading quotes from men like S. Adams is like taking water when you are thirsty. Such writings make you realize what men can be
Wouldn’t it be great to have a real history channel that read through the writings and speeches of these men in detail.
Currently I am following several Bible reading programs on television and gaining so much more from the full text
There is a huge body of correspondence and speeches that never make it to the public, except as culled by historians
The more you read by the founders, the more they grow as giants.
These men were great because they followed conviction, and were well grounded in morals and convictions when they were tested. Circumstance did not find them. They were raised to approach their circumstance with integrity and courage.
History does not make men. Their mothers and fathers make them and arm them well or poorly for the battle that can be ignored, or engaged
entagor on November 23, 2008 at 12:11 PM
PattyJ on November 23, 2008 at 12:02 PM
I agree with you.
It is my opinion this course would be rejected by the teachers as inappropriate, i.e. dangerous to the ideas they are trying to instill in their charges
If the course was taught it would be created to prove the founders and their opinions were a source of evil, not good
Schools already teach the founders were not really Christians, they were racists, imperialists, and authors of an imperfect document which must bend to the new truths
entagor on November 23, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Perfect example, Ed of your determination to use way, way too many words in your posts.
Show a pix of the book cover and here’s all you needed to say: “Great read, you should get it.”
All the rest is superfluous. We don’t care about your fear of flying, etc. Get over yourself.
wilk on November 23, 2008 at 1:28 PM
First,
Get over yourself when Michelle hires you to blog, you can write whatever the hell you want.
Ed,
I think we probably would have run Sam Adams out of the Republican party if he were alive today.
Squid Shark on November 23, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Some were not really Christians, a few were racists, some had imperialist tendencies. The Founders knew the constitution was inadequate that is why they gave us a means to amend it.
Squid Shark on November 23, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Well, put that book down for now. It’s a glorious day in SoCal, absolutely beautiful. :)
Well, that’s just nasty. Of course we enjoy hearing details about Ed…that’s what makes this a great site. Info + human touch = happy Hotairians.
nyrofan on November 23, 2008 at 2:04 PM
Dear Ed,
I appreciate your book recommendation, and empathize with your fear of flying, because I have flaws of my own, with impatience and nitpicking being chief among them.
————————————————————-
Little civics lesson for you, wilk.
Mongerel on November 23, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Adams is an astringent.
Needed in times of vague, tepid, wishy-washy Obama-esque rhetoric.
profitsbeard on November 23, 2008 at 3:12 PM
Very cool! I’m sure that was fun to discover!
CP on November 23, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Whoa, no discussion of Abby Adams? Now, that’s an outrage. She was where it’s at. :-)
And you all are mistaken. The forgotten man in the Revolution/founding is clearly George Mason.
Abby Adams on November 23, 2008 at 5:03 PM
I know, that’s why it will take activism to return these subjects to the schools!
PattyJ on November 23, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Is this the same Sam Adams who makes great beer?
kanda on November 23, 2008 at 6:08 PM
Actually, Adams went through poverty, and at critical times of the development of the revolution, and during the war as well, he was near penniless. His wife Betsy would sometimes write to Sam asking of whom she should visit to ask for a loan. He relied on the kindness of others at times.
cannonball on November 23, 2008 at 6:16 PM
If I recall, many of them lost their families, and ended up in poverty.
N4646W on November 23, 2008 at 8:36 PM
JOHN Adams quotes
“The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and the attributes of God.” [June 28, 1813; Letter to Thomas Jefferson]
“We recognize no Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!”
[April 18, 1775, on the eve of the Revolutionary War after a British major ordered John Adams, John Hancock, and those with them to disperse in “the name of George the Sovereign King of England." ]
SAM Adams quotes
In his work, The Rights of the Colonists, which was circulated in 1772, Adams boldly asserted:
The right to freedom being the gift of the Almighty…The rights of the colonists as Christians…may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutions of The Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.
As the Declaration of Independence was being signed in 1776, Sam Adams declared:
We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.
And Adams wrote these poignant words in his Last Will and Testament:
Principally, and first of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins.
Sam Adams never forgot those stirring days during the Great Awakening when George Whitefield “thundered in the Pulpit”. . . . [I]n his eyes, the chief purpose of the American Revolution was to separate New England from the “decadent” mother country in order that Puritanism might again flourish as it had in the early seventeenth century. Adams hoped to do by means of a political revolution what George Whitefield had done through a religious awakening. Puritanism was his goal: revolution his method of attaining it.
In 1772, Adams wrote a document called “The Rights of the Colonists.” This treatise is viewed historically as a key document for articulating the reasons why America should sever all political ties to Great Britain. In this document, Adams argued:
The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty . . . the rights of the Colonists as Christians . . . MAY BE BEST understood by reading and carefully studying the institutions of the great Lawgiver and the Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.
Historian Robert Flood points out that: Samuel Adams “regarded individual freedom as ‘the law of the Creator’ and a Christian right documented in the New Testament.” Adams clearly saw the colonists’ rights as coming from God, a belief that several years later became the cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence
BOTH patriots!!!
John The Baptist on November 24, 2008 at 1:05 AM
even “rinos”?
what about people who aren’t transfixed with loyal jealosy over sarah palin’s jennifer anniston-like suffering? can you make common cause with those people?
or does the definition of “patriotism” include a palin clause now as well?
eh on November 24, 2008 at 8:59 AM
even “rinos?”
rinos? They are pinos, patriots in name only.
That said, we need pinos these next four years to effect at least some filibuster threat on some issues.
G. Charles on November 24, 2008 at 9:14 AM
even “rinos?”
rinos? They are pinos, patriots in name only.
That said, we need pinos these next four years to effect at least some filibuster threat on some issues.
G. Charles on November 24, 2008 at 9:14 AM
Clearly Allahpundit is zombie Sam Adams. It explains the beer fixation too…
BKennedy on November 24, 2008 at 9:16 AM
God bless Samual Adams and those helped found this nation. The ideal of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness still freaks out the marxists, fascists and elitists. True, we had some growing to do during and after our Founding Father’s day but the foundation was set that allowed us to make the changes needed to have this goal for everyone.
DL13 on November 24, 2008 at 12:51 PM
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