View source for Samuel Adams

[[File:J_S_Copley_-_Samuel_Adams.jpg|thumb|The natural [[liberty]] of man is to be [[free]] from any superior power on [[Earth]], and not to be under the [[will]] or legislative [[authority]] of man, but only to have the [[law]] of [[nature]] for his [[rule]].]]
'''[[w:Samuel Adams|Samuel Adams]]''' ([[27 September]] [[1722]] – [[2 October]] [[1803]]) was an [[United States|American]] statesman, [[Political philosophy|political philosopher]], and a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father of the United States]]. He was a politician in [[w:Province of Massachusetts Bay|colonial Massachusetts]], a leader of the movement that became the [[American Revolution]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and other founding documents, and one of the architects of the principles of [[w:Republicanism in the United States|American republicanism]] that shaped the [[Politics of the United States|political culture of the United States]]. He was a second cousin to his fellow Founding Father, President [[John Adams]].

== Quotes ==
[[File:Samuel Adams, Faneuil Hall.jpg|thumb|right|It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon [[liberty]], who, if we may [[judge]] by the whole tenor of their [[actions]], mean [[nothing]] else by it ''but their own liberty,'' — to [[oppress]] without [[control]] or the restraint of [[laws]] all who are [[poorer]] or [[weaker]] than themselves.]]
[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|right|The [[truth]] is, [[all]] might be free if they valued [[freedom]], and defended it as they ought.]]
[[File:Minute Man Statue Lexington Massachusetts.jpg|thumb|right|The [[liberties]] of our [[Country]], the [[freedom]] of our civil [[constitution]] are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our [[duty]] to defend them against all attack.]]
[[File:Faneuil Hall-Skyscrapers.JPG|thumb|right|Instead of sitting down satisfied with the [[efforts]] we have already made, which is the [[wish]] of our [[enemies]], the [[necessity]] of the [[times]], more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, [[fortitude]], and [[perseverance]].]]
[[File:Faneuilgrasshopper.JPG|thumb|right|It requires [[time]] to bring [[honest]] Men to think & determine alike even in important Matters. [[Mankind]] are governed more by their [[feelings]] than by [[reason]].]]
[[File:BostonFaneuilHall25June07B.jpg|thumb|right|If [[Virtue]] & [[Knowledge]] are diffus'd among the [[People]], they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great [[Security]].]]

*Our [[Trade]], as it is now, & always has been conducted, centers in [[Great Britain|Great Brittain]], & in Return for her [[Manufacturing|Manufactures]] affords her more ready Cash, beyond any Comparison, than can possibly be expected by the most sanguine Promoters of these extraordinary Methods. We are in short ultimately yielding large Supplys to the Revenues of the Mother Country, while we are laboring for a very moderate Subsistence for ourselves. But if our Trade is to be curtaild in its most profitable Branches, & Burdens beyond all possible Bearing, laid upon that which is sufferd to remain, we shall be so far from being able to take off the manufactures of Great Brittain, that it will be scarce possible for us to earn our [[Bread]].--But what still heightens our apprehensions is, that these unexpected Proceedings may be preparatory to new [[Taxation|Taxations]] upon us: For if our Trade may be taxed, why not our Lands? Why not the [[Production|Produce]] of our Lands & everything we possess or make use of? This we apprehend annihilates our Charter Right to govern & tax ourselves. It strikes at our British privileges, which as we have never forfeited them, we hold in common with our Fellow Subjects who are Natives of Britain. '''If Taxes are laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal Representation where they are laid, are we not reduced from the Character of free Subjects to the miserable State of tributary Slaves?'''
** [http://www.samuel-adams-heritage.com/documents/samuel-adams-instructions-to-bostons-representatives.html Instructions to Boston’s Representatives (May 1764)], also quoted in ''Samuel Adams : Radical Puritan'' (1997), by William M. Fowler Jr., p. 51

* '''It is a very great [[mistake]] to [[imagine]] that the object of [[loyalty]] is the [[authority]] and interest of one [[individual]] [[man]], however dignified by the applause or enriched by the [[success]] of popular actions.'''
** [http://thingsabove.freerovin.com/samadams.htm "Loyalty and Sedition," essay published in ''The Advertiser'' (1748)], later printed in ''The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams,'' Volume 1 (1865), by William Vincent Wells <!-- Little, Brown, and Company; Boston --> 

* Neither the [[wisest]] [[constitution]] nor the wisest [[laws]] will secure the [[liberty]] and [[happiness]] of a people whose manners are universally [[corrupt]]. '''He therefore is the truest [[friend]] to the [[liberty]] of his country who tries most to promote its [[virtue]], and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.''' We must not conclude merely upon a man's haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. '''It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may [[judge]] by the whole tenor of their [[actions]], mean [[nothing]] else by it ''but their own liberty,'' — to [[oppress]] without [[control]] or the restraint of [[laws]] all who are poorer or [[weaker]] than themselves.''' It is not, I say, unfrequent to see such instances, though at the same time I esteem it a justice due to my country to say that it is not without shining examples of the contrary kind; — examples of men of a distinguished attachment to this same liberty I have been describing; whom no [[hopes]] could draw, no [[terrors]] could drive, from steadily pursuing, in their sphere, the true interests of their country; whose fidelity has been tried in the nicest and tenderest manner, and has been ever firm and unshaken.<br>'''The sum of [[all]] is, if we would most truly enjoy this [[gift]] of [[Heaven]], let us become a virtuous [[people]].'''
** [http://thingsabove.freerovin.com/samadams.htm Essay published in ''The Advertiser'' (1748)] and later reprinted in ''The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams,'' Volume 1 (1865), by William Vincent Wells <!-- Little, Brown, and Company; Boston -->

* [[Property]] is admitted to have an existence, even in the savage [[w:State_of_nature|state of nature]]. The bow, the arrow, and the tomahawk; the [[hunting]] and the [[fishing]] ground, are species of property, as important to an [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American savage]], as [[w:Pearl|pearls]], [[w:Rubies|rubies]], and [[Diamond|diamonds]] are to the [[Mughal Empire|Mogul]], or a Nabob in the East, or the [[Land|lands]], [[w:Tenements|tenements]], hereditaments, messuages, [[gold]] and [[silver]] of the [[Europe|Europeans]]. And if property is necessary for the support of savage life, it is by no means less so in [[civil society]]. '''The [[Utopia|Utopian]] schemes of levelling, and a [[community]] of [[Commodity|goods]], are as visionary and impracticable, as those which vest all property in the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Crown]], are arbitrary, despotic, and in our government unconstitutional.''' Now, what property can the colonists be conceived to have, if their money may be granted away by others, without their consent?
** [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch16s6.html "House of Representatives of Massachusetts to Dennys De Berdt] (12 January 1768) <!-- From the Writings of Samuel Adams, pp. 134 - 152 -->

* If you, or [[w:William Dalrymple (British Army officer) | Colonel Dalrymple]] under you, have the power to remove ''one'' regiment you have the power to remove ''both.'' It is at your peril if you refuse. The meeting is composed of three thousand people. They have become impatient. A thousand men are already arrived from the neighborhood, and the whole country is in motion. Night is approaching. An immediate answer is expected. Both regiments or none!
** Address to acting governor [[w:Thomas Hutchinson (governor)|Thomas Hutchinson]] (6 March 1770), the day following the [[w:Boston Massacre|Boston Massacre]]. Hutchinson had offered to remove one of the two British regiments stationed in Boston. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0395825105&id=EQriRekKKPMC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=%22Night+is+approaching.+An+immediate+answer+is+expected.+Both+regiments+or+none%22&sig=P3liJRs37lVSpjUrLHv7bPdEuXk]

* '''The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought.'''
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2092 Essay, written under the pseudonym "Candidus," in ''The Boston Gazette'' (14 October 1771)], later published in ''The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams'' (1865) by William Vincent Wells, p. 425

* '''The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.''' We have receiv'd them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas'd them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath'd to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. — '''Instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, [[deliberation]], [[fortitude]], and [[perseverance]].''' Let us remember that "if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom." It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.
** Essay, written under the pseudonym "Candidus," in ''The Boston Gazette'' (14 October 1771), later published in ''The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams'' (1865) by William Vincent Wells, p. 425

*It is always dangerous to the liberties of the people to have an [[army]] stationed among them, over which they have no control... The Militia is composed of free Citizens. There is therefore no danger of their making use of their Power to the destruction of their own [[Rights]], or suffering others to invade them.
**[https://archive.org/stream/writitngssamadam03adamrich/writitngssamadam03adamrich_djvu.txt ''The Writings of Samuel Adams''], Vol. III, 1773-1777, collected and edited by Harry Alonzo Gushing, P.G. Putnam & Sons, New York and London, 1907, pp. 230 and 251

* '''What a glorious morning is this!'''
** Comment upon hearing the gunfire at the [[w:Battles of Lexington and Concord|Battle of Lexington]] (19 April 1775), as quoted in ''An address, delivered at Lexington, on the 19th (20th) April, 1835'' (1835) by [[Edward Everett]]; this has often been paraphrased as "What a glorious morning for America!"

* He who is void of virtuous Attachments in private Life, is, or very soon will be void of all Regard for his Country. There is seldom an Instance of a Man guilty of betraying his Country, who had not before lost the Feeling of moral Obligations in his private Connections.
** [http://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCN04018620&id=GVjNVKLxYtgC&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=%22who+had+not+before+lost+the+feeling+of+moral+obligations+in+his+private+connections%22 Letter to James Warren (4 November 1775)], reprinted in ''The Writings of Samuel Adams,'' ed. Harry Alonzo Cushing, vol. III (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), p. 236

* '''How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!'''
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/3sdms10.txt Letter to John Pitts (21 January 1776)]

* '''We cannot make Events. Our [[Business]] is wisely to improve them.''' There has been much to do to confirm doubting Friends & fortify the Timid. '''It requires time to bring honest Men to think & determine alike even in important Matters. Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.'''
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2093 Letter to Samuel Cooper (30 April 1776)]

* The eyes of the people are upon us. [...] If we despond, public confidence is destroyed, the people will no longer yield their support to a hopeless contest, and American liberty is no more. [...] Despondency becomes not the dignity of our cause, nor the character of those who are its supporters. Let us awaken then, and evince a different spirit, - a spirit that shall inspire the people with confidence in themselves and in us, - a spirit that will encourage them to persevere in this glorious struggle, until their rights and liberties shall be established on a [[Stone|rock]]. We have proclaimed to the world our determination 'to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.' We have appealed to [[Heaven]] for the justice of our cause, and in Heaven we have placed our trust. [...] We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act worthy of its aid and protection.
** addressing a meeting of delegates to the Continental Congress, assembled at Yorktown, Pennsylvania, September 1777 ; as quoted in ''The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams,'' Volume 2, by William Vincent Wells; Little, Brown, and Company; Boston, 1865 ; pp. 492-493

* A general Dissolution of Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy. While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader. How necessary then is it for those who are determin'd to transmit the Blessings of Liberty as a fair Inheritance to Posterity, to associate on publick Principles in Support of publick Virtue.
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2094 Letter to James Warren (12 February 1779)]

* '''If Virtue & Knowledge are diffus'd among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security.'''
** Letter to James Warren (12 February 1779)

* If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots to prevent its Ruin.
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2094 Letter to James Warren (24 October 1780)]

* I firmly believe that the benevolent Creator designed the republican Form of Government for Man.
** Statement of (14 April 1785), quoted in ''The Writings of Samuel Adams'' (1904) edited by Harry A. Cushing

* Let Divines, and Philosophers, Statesmen and Patriots unite their endeavours to renovate the Age, by impressing the Minds of Men with the importance of educating their little boys, and girls — of inculcating in the Minds of youth the fear, and Love of the [[Deity]], and universal [[Philanthropy|Phylanthropy]]; and in subordination to these great principles, the Love of their Country — of instructing them in the Art of self government, without which they never can act a wise part in the Government of Societys great, or small — in short of leading them in the Study, and Practice of the exalted Virtues of the [[Christianity|Christian]] system.
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/4sdms10.txt Letter to John Adams (4 October 1790)]

* '''In [[monarchy]] the [[crime]] of [[treason]] may admit of being pardoned or lightly punished, but the man who dares rebel against the laws of a [[republic]] ought to suffer death.'''
** Arguing for a Riot Act which prohibited 12 or more persons from congregating in public and which empowered county sheriffs to kill rioters, during debates prompted by [[w:Shays' Rebellion|Shays' Rebellion]] (1786 - 1787) and the death sentences given to many of the rebels; as quoted in Howard Zinn, ''[http://libcom.org/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-howard-zinn/5-a-kind-of-revolution A People's History of the United States]'' (1980) Chapter 5 : A kind of Revolution<!-- p. 94, 95 - no edition cited. -->; also quoted in [http://www.hermes-press.com/completing.htm "Completing the American Revolution" by Norman D. Livergood]

* Is life, property and every thing dear and sacred, to be now submitted to the decisions of pensioned [[judges]], holding their places during the pleasure of such a Governor, and a Council perhaps overawed? To what a state of infamy, wretchedness and misery shall we be reduced if our Judges shall be prevailed upon to be thus degraded to hirelings, and the body of the people shall suffer their free Constitution to be overturned and ruined. Merciful God! inspire thy people with wisdom and fortitude, and direct them to gracious ends. In this extreme distress, when the plan of slavery seems nearly completed, O save our country from impending ruin.
** Adams writing as ''Valerius Poplicola'' in the ''Boston Gazette'', October 5, 1772, as quoted in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Life_and_Public_Services_of_Samuel_A/Vplpw49nqTIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA487 The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams], by William V. Wells

=== ''The Rights of the Colonists'' (1772) ===
[[File:Safhall1 copy.jpg|thumb|Every [[natural]] right not expressly given up, or, from the nature of a [[social]] compact, necessarily ceded, remains. All positive and civil laws should conform, as far as possible, to the law of natural [[reason]] and [[equity]].]] 
:<small>[http://history.hanover.edu/texts/adamss.html ''The Rights of the Colonists'' The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1772 Source: Old South Leaflets no. 173 (Boston: Directors of the Old South Work, 1906) 7: 417-428]</small>
[[File:Captain John Parker Statue, Lexington MA.jpg|thumb|If men, through [[fear]], [[fraud]], or [[mistake]], should in terms renounce or give up any [[essential]] [[natural]] [[right]], the [[eternal]] [[law]] of [[reason]] and the grand end of [[society]] would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to [[freedom]] being the [[gift]] of [[God]] Almighty, it is not in the [[power]] of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a [[slave]].]]
[[File:William Turner- The Angel, Standing in the Sun.JPG|thumb|The Legislative has no right to [[absolute]], arbitrary [[power]] over the lives and fortunes of the people; nor can mortals assume a prerogative not only too high for men, but for [[angels]], and therefore reserved for the exercise of the [[Deity]] alone.]] 

* '''Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.''' These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.

* '''All men have a right to remain in a state of nature as long as they please; and in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious, to leave the society they belong to, and enter into another.'''

* When men enter into society, it is by voluntary consent; and they have a right to demand and insist upon the performance of such conditions and previous limitations as form an equitable original compact. '''Every natural right not expressly given up, or, from the nature of a social compact, necessarily ceded, remains.''' All positive and civil laws should conform, as far as possible, to the law of natural reason and equity.

* As neither reason requires nor religion permits the contrary, every man living in or out of a state of civil society has a right peaceably and quietly to worship [[God]] according to the dictates of his [[conscience]].

* '''In regard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions thereof is what all [[good]] and [[candid]] [[minds]] in all ages have ever practised, and, both by precept and example, inculcated on mankind.'''

* '''"Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty," in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all men are clearly entitled to''' by the eternal and immutable laws of God and nature, as well as by the law of nations and all well-grounded municipal laws, which must have their foundation in the former.

* '''The natural liberty of man, by entering into society, is abridged or restrained, so far only as is necessary for the great end of society, the best good of the whole.''' In the state of nature every man is, under God, judge and sole judge of his own rights and of the injuries done him. By entering into society he agrees to an arbiter or indifferent judge between him and his neighbors; but he no more renounces his original right than by taking a cause out of the ordinary course of law, and leaving the decision to referees or indifferent arbitrators. In the last case, he must pay the referees for time and trouble. He should also be willing to pay his just quota for the support of government, the law, and the constitution; the end of which is to furnish indifferent and impartial judges in all cases that may happen, whether civil, ecclesiastical, marine, or military.

* '''The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule.'''

*Government was instituted for the purposes of common defence, and those who hold the reins of government have an equitable, natural right to an honorable support from the same principle that "the laborer is worthy of his hire."&nbsp; But then the same community which they serve ought to be the assessors of their pay.&nbsp; '''Governors have no right to seek and take what they please'''; by this, instead of being content with the station assigned them, that of honorable servants of the society, they would soon become absolute masters, despots, and tyrants.&nbsp; Hence, '''as a private man has a right to say what [[wages]] he will give in his private affairs, so has a community to determine what they will give and grant of their substance for the administration of public affairs.'''&nbsp; And, in both cases, more are ready to offer their service at the proposed and stipulated price than are able and willing to perform their duty.

* '''[[Government]] was instituted for the purposes of common [[Defense|defence]] … In short, it is the greatest [[absurdity]] to suppose it in the power of one, or any number of men … to renounce their essential natural rights, or the means of preserving those rights'''; when the grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property. '''If men, through [[fear]], [[fraud]], or [[mistake]], should in terms renounce or give up any [[essential]] [[natural]] [[right]], the [[eternal]] [[law]] of [[reason]] and the grand end of [[society]] would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to [[freedom]] being the [[gift]] of [[God]] Almighty, it is not in the [[power]] of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a [[slave]].'''
'''
* '''The Legislative has no right to [[absolute]], arbitrary [[power]] over the lives and fortunes of the people; nor can mortals assume a prerogative not only too high for men, but for [[angels]], and therefore reserved for the exercise of the [[Deity]] alone.'''

* The supreme power cannot justly take from any man any part of his property, without his consent in person or by his representative. … Now what liberty can there be where property is taken away without consent?

===[[s:American Independence|Speech in Philadelphia]] (1776)===
:<small> [[s:American Independence|Speech, State House of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia]] (1 August 1776)</small> 
[[File:Libertybell alone small.png|thumb|right|Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be [[free]], but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on [[earth]] for [[civil]] and [[religious]] [[liberty]].]]
[[File:Independence Hall Tower.JPG|thumb|right|If ye [[love]] [[wealth]] better than [[liberty]], the [[tranquility]] of servitude than the animated contest of [[freedom]] — go home from us in [[peace]]. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!]]

* He who made all men hath made the [[truths]] [[necessary]] to [[human]] [[happiness]] obvious to [[all]]. <br> Our forefathers threw off the yoke of Popery in religion; for you is reserved the honor of leveling the popery of [[politics]]. They opened [[the Bible]] to all, and maintained the capacity of every man to judge for himself in [[religion]].

* '''Were the [[talents]] and [[virtues]] which [[heaven]] has bestowed on men given merely to make them more [[obedient]] drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by all?'''

* Men who content themselves with the semblance of truth, and a display of [[words]], talk much of our obligations to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] for protection. Had she a single eye to our advantage? A nation of shopkeepers are very seldom so disinterested.

* Did the protection we received annul our rights as men, and lay us under an obligation of being miserable? Who among you, my countrymen, that is a father, would claim authority to make your child a slave because you had nourished him in infancy? <br> ’Tis a strange species of generosity which requires a return infinitely more valuable than anything it could have bestowed; that demands as a reward for a defense of our property a surrender of those inestimable privileges, to the arbitrary will of vindictive tyrants, which alone give value to that very property.

* '''Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.'''

*'''Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say "what should be the reward of such sacrifices?" Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!'''
** Variant: If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude <ins>better</ins> than the animat<del>ed</del><ins>ing</ins> contest of freedom — go <del>home</del> from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or <ins>your</ins> arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains <del>sit</del><ins>set</ins> lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen<del>!</del><ins>.</ins>

* '''Freedom of thought and the right of private judgment, in matters of conscience, driven from every other corner of the earth, direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum.'''
** Variant: Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience, direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum.

* '''We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom alone all men ought to be obedient. [[God in Hinduism|He]] reigns in [[Heaven]], and with a propitious eye beholds his subjects assuming that freedom of thought, and dignity of self-direction which He bestowed on them. From the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come.'''

===Speech about Declaration of Independence (1776)===
:<small>[http://www.samuel-adams-heritage.com/documents/speech-about-declaration-of-independence.html Speech about the Declaration of Independence] (1 August 1776)</small>
*We have [[United States Army|large armies]], well disciplined and appointed, with commanders inferior to none in military skill, and superior in activity and zeal. We are furnished with arsenals and stores beyond our most sanguine expectations.

*Our [[Union (United States)|union]] is now complete; our [[Constitutions|constitution]] composed, established, and approved. You are now the guardians of your own liberties. We may justly address you, as the decemviri did the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], and say, ''{{'}}Nothing that we propose can pass into a law without your consent. Be yourselves, O Americans, the authors of those laws on which your happiness depends.{{'}}''

*We cannot suppose that our opposition has made a corrupt and dissipated nation more friendly to America, or created in them a greater respect for the rights of mankind. We can therefore expect a restoration and establishment of our [[Privilege|privileges]], and a compensation for the injuries we have received, from their want of power, from their fears, and not from their virtues. The unanimity and valor, which will effect an honorable peace, can render a future contest for our liberties unnecessary. He who has strength to chain down the wolf is a madman if he let him loose without drawing his teeth and paring his nails.

*We have no other alternative than independence, or the most ignominious and galling servitude. [[British Army|The legions of our enemies]] thicken on our plains; [[desolation]] and [[death]] mark their bloody career; whilst the mangled corpses of our countrymen seem to cry out to us as a voice from [[Heaven]].

*You have now in the field armies sufficient to repel the whole force of your enemies and their base and [[mercenary]] auxiliaries. The hearts of your soldiers beat high with the spirit of freedom; they are animated with the justice of their cause, and while they grasp their swords can look up to Heaven for assistance. Your adversaries are composed of wretches who laugh at the rights of humanity, who turn religion into derision, and would, for higher wages, direct their swords against their leaders or their country. Go on, then, in your generous enterprise, with gratitude to Heaven for past, success, and confidence of it in the future. For my own part, I ask no greater blessing than to share with you the common danger and common glory. If I have a wish dearer to my soul than that my ashes may be mingled with those of a Warren and a Montgomery, it is that these American States may never cease to be free and independent.

{{Disputed begin}}

==Disputed==

* <!-- A motion was made and seconded, that the report of the Committee made on Monday last, be amended, so far as to add the following to the first article therein mentioned, viz.: ' -->And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of time press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless when necessary for the defence of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions.<!-- ' And the question being put, was determined in the negative. -->
** Rejected resolution for a clause to add to the first article of the U.S. Constitution, in the debates of the Massachusetts Convention of 1788 (6 February 1788); this has often been attributed to Adams, but he is nowhere identified as the person making the resolution in [https://archive.org/details/debatesandproce00peirgoog ''Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Held in the year 1788 And which finally ratified the Constitution of the United States.'' (1856) p. 86.]<!-- Printed by the Resolves of the Legislature, 1856. Boston: William White, Printer of the Commonwealth. 
** Variant: The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of The United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms...
*** As quoted in ''Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts'' (1850) edited by Peirce & Hale <!-- Boston, 1850 pp. 86-87 -->

Actually, Samuel Adams is documented in the following:


Elliot’s Debates: Volume 2
Convention of Massachusetts, February 6, 1788

Wednesday, February 6. [The Hon. Mr. ADAMS introduced some amendments, to be added to those reported by the committee; but, they not meeting the approbation of those gentlemen whose minds they were intended to ease, after they were debated a considerable time, the honorable gentleman withdrew them.] 

Then follows a list of votes, including a "Yea" for "Hon. Samuel Adams
{{Disputed end}}

{{Misattributed begin}}
== Misattributed ==
* '''It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in the minds of men.'''
** Misattributed to Samuel Adams as early as 1990.<ref>[[wikipedia: Mansour Khalid|Mansour Khalid]], '' The Government They Deserve: The Role of the Elite in Sudan's Political Evolution'', London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1990, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jZ9yAAAAMAAJ&q=brushfires p. 17].</ref> Also misattributed to John Adams.<ref>Will Bunch, ''The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, Hi-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama'', New York: Harper, 2010, p. 49.</ref> Actually<ref>https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/it_does_not_require_a_majority_to_prevail_but_rather_an_irate_tireless_mino, https://lists.h-net.org/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=lx&sort=3&list=H-OIEAHC&month=1310, http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2013-October/</ref> originates with [[Diane Ackerman]], who, in an article on Samuel Adams, "The Man Who Made a Revolution", published in the September 6, 1987 issue of the widely circulated Sunday newspaper supplement ''[[wikipedia: Parade (magazine)|Parade]]'', wrote: "Early on, he realized that revolutions don't require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in people's minds." (page numbers vary, article on pp. 20–23 in most editions with the [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qfQaAAAAIBAJ&pg=4292%2C1111900 preceding quote on p. 22])
{{Misattributed end}}

== Quotes about Adams ==
* '''No one, in the year 1770, was better fitted than Samuel Adams, either by talent and temperament or the circumstances of his position, to push the continent into a rebellion.''' Unlike most of his patriot friends, he had neither private business nor private profession to fall back upon when public affairs grew tame, his only business being, as one might say, the public business, his only profession the definition and defense of popular rights. ...the serious business of a man who during ten years had abandoned all private pursuits and had embraced poverty to become a tribune of the people.
** [[Carl L. Becker]], [http://books.google.com/books?id=TwcOAAAAIAAJ& ''The Eve of the Revolution''] (1918)

* Samuel Adams had not inherited [[poverty]] nor had he, after all, exactly embraced it, but had as it were naturally drifted into it through indifference to worldly gain, the indifference which men of single and fixed purpose have for all irrelevant matters.
** Carl L. Becker, in ''The Eve of the Revolution'' (1918)

* To [[John Adams]] he [Samuel] said on one occasion, "'''he never looked forward in life; never planned, laid a scheme, or formed a design for laying up anything for himself or others after him'''". This was the truth, inexplicable as it must have seemed to his more provident cousin.
** [[Carl L. Becker]], in ''The Eve of the Revolution'' (1918)

==External links==
{{wikipedia}}
{{wikisource author|Samuel Adams}} 
{{commonscat}}
*[http://www.samuel-adams-heritage.com/ Samuel Adams Heritage Society]
*{{gutenberg author | id=Samuel_Adams | name=Samuel Adams}}
*[http://www.colonialhall.com/adamss/adamss.php Brief biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich (1856)]
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=Vplpw49nqTIC&lpg=PP1&dq=William%20Wells%20samuel%20adams&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false ''The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams'' (1865) by William Wells]
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=H39E42RWP18C&lpg=PP1&dq=fowler%20radical%20puritan&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=fowler%20radical%20puritan&f=false ''Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician'' (2002) by John K. Alexander]
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000045 Samual Adams profile and bibliography at U.S. Congress website]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Samuel}}
[[Category:Politicians from Boston]]
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[[Category:Governors of Massachusetts]]
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[[Category:Activists from the United States]]
[[Category:1722 births]]
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[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1796]]
[[Category:People of the American Revolution]]
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{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Adams family|Samuel Adams]]