During 1777, Samuel Adams was very displeased, in that progress towards creating a confederation of the 13 states was still met with stiff resistance, with small matters being magnified while the far more significant issues were minimized or ignored. Adams was the chair of at least four committees in the 2nd Continental Congress, and his overwhelming workload and impatience started to wear him down. Adams would soon reach the point where his main desire was a quiet comfortable retirement.
During October 1777, word of the
American victory at Saratoga reached the 2nd Continental Congress, which by then had moved from Philadelphia to York (PA). By the Fall of 1777, if not sooner, Adams' focus was on the future; however, the skills that worked in his favor as a revolutionary didn’t translate well to a legislative body, with even Adams’ closest friends and confidants finding him to be rigid and uncompromising.
John Hancock took leave of the 2nd Continental Congress, and traveled accompanied by his entourage, full of military flash and fashion. When Adams left about a week later taking the same route, he discovered that Hancock and his entourage didn’t pay any of their bills for their lodging, food, or drink. When Hancock entered Boston, he was hailed as a hero, but when Samuel Adams and those with him returned, they were ignored. Those two journeys set the tone for the next decade, when resentments between Adams and Hancock reached critical mass. It reached the point where Adams believed that Hancock’s thirst for accolades and public glory was dangerous.
Once in Boston, Hancock wasted no time maligning Adams, vowing that he would never again speak to him. Hancock falsely accused Adams of being part of the “Conway Cabal", which was the shadowy effort to remove General Washington as overall commander of the Continental Armies. Adams assumed that the truth would protect him, which was a curious strategy, in that Adams had spent over twenty years churning out disinformation. Ironically, both men owed each other a huge debt that was beyond-uncomfortable for both to publicly, and even privately, to acknowledge. Soon enough, Hancock was idolized and lionized as the leading revolutionary figure in Boston.
During October 1777, word of the
American victory at Saratoga reached the 2nd Continental Congress, which by then had moved from Philadelphia to York (PA). By the Fall of 1777, if not sooner, Adams' focus was on the future; however, the skills that worked in his favor as a revolutionary didn’t translate well to a legislative body, with even Adams’ closest friends and confidants finding him to be rigid and uncompromising.
John Hancock took leave of the 2nd Continental Congress, and traveled accompanied by his entourage, full of military flash and fashion. When Adams left about a week later taking the same route, he discovered that Hancock and his entourage didn’t pay any of their bills for their lodging, food, or drink. When Hancock entered Boston, he was hailed as a hero, but when Samuel Adams and those with him returned, they were ignored. Those two journeys set the tone for the next decade, when resentments between Adams and Hancock reached critical mass. It reached the point where Adams believed that Hancock’s thirst for accolades and public glory was dangerous.
Once in Boston, Hancock wasted no time maligning Adams, vowing that he would never again speak to him. Hancock falsely accused Adams of being part of the “Conway Cabal", which was the shadowy effort to remove General Washington as overall commander of the Continental Armies. Adams assumed that the truth would protect him, which was a curious strategy, in that Adams had spent over twenty years churning out disinformation. Ironically, both men owed each other a huge debt that was beyond-uncomfortable for both to publicly, and even privately, to acknowledge. Soon enough, Hancock was idolized and lionized as the leading revolutionary figure in Boston.
Adams was delighted when the Treaty of Alliance (1778) with France was finalized, but he was still enduring malicious slights, with his only consolation that the rumors/insults were false. Hancock viewed Adams as the enemy, but strangely Adams did not see Hancock in that way. That being said, Adams wrote items in the Gazette that warned Bostonians of the dangers of idol worship. Adams discovered that he was no longer the shadowy mastermind/puppetmaster, able to convince others to see things as he saw them. Instead of stockpiling like-minded associates, Adams was now accumulating enemies. The easiest answer for why Adams had many enemies was that his idealism and certitude were no longer assets, but liabilities, in that most Bostonians by the late-1770s and beyond thought Adams was unnecessarily stirring up controversy. This third act of Samuel Adams, starting in the late-1770s, proved to be as frustrating and unsatisfying as his first act during the 1740s and 1750s.
During the Summer of 1780, Adams was in Boston, where he was instrumental in crafting and ratifying the MA constitution, satisfied that majority rule was combined with checks-and-balances. Very soon after ratification, news arrived of the death of former MA Governor Thomas Hutchinson of a stroke. Hutchinson’s last years in Britain after his fall from grace in MA were painful, puzzling, and frustrating. Hutchinson went to his grave believing that Samuel Adams was the main person responsible for the Revolutionary War; no doubt Adams would have accused Hutchinson of the same thing.
During August 1780, Adams was back in Philadelphia, but he was focused on the upcoming election of the MA governor, which would be the first elected governor under the new MA constitution, and the elected successor to Hutchinson. Hancock continued to remain in the spotlight in Boston, doing all sorts of public and charitable things, all for the accolades and the attention. It reached the point where Bostonians would blindly support Hancock, since his name by then was the most famous in all of MA. A visitor to Boston dubbed Hancock the “King of the Rabble”, and he was easily elected MA governor. Adams knew that Hancock wasn’t serving as MA Governor for the public good, but only for his thirst for power and attention. Hancock would serve nine terms as MA Governor, with Adams being pushed further into irrelevance and obscurity with each inauguration.
During the Summer of 1780, Adams was in Boston, where he was instrumental in crafting and ratifying the MA constitution, satisfied that majority rule was combined with checks-and-balances. Very soon after ratification, news arrived of the death of former MA Governor Thomas Hutchinson of a stroke. Hutchinson’s last years in Britain after his fall from grace in MA were painful, puzzling, and frustrating. Hutchinson went to his grave believing that Samuel Adams was the main person responsible for the Revolutionary War; no doubt Adams would have accused Hutchinson of the same thing.
During August 1780, Adams was back in Philadelphia, but he was focused on the upcoming election of the MA governor, which would be the first elected governor under the new MA constitution, and the elected successor to Hutchinson. Hancock continued to remain in the spotlight in Boston, doing all sorts of public and charitable things, all for the accolades and the attention. It reached the point where Bostonians would blindly support Hancock, since his name by then was the most famous in all of MA. A visitor to Boston dubbed Hancock the “King of the Rabble”, and he was easily elected MA governor. Adams knew that Hancock wasn’t serving as MA Governor for the public good, but only for his thirst for power and attention. Hancock would serve nine terms as MA Governor, with Adams being pushed further into irrelevance and obscurity with each inauguration.
Adams left the 2nd Continental Congress for the last time in April 1781 (it had officially disbanded on 1 March 1781). Once back in Boston later that year, Adams heard of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Adams never again left Boston, but the city didn’t feel the same to him anymore. While Samuel Adams was no longer as famous or in the forefront in the US, in France John Adams was mistaken for the American Hero Samuel Adams. Samuel Adams came to expect that he would not receive recognition of his efforts and achievements as a revolutionary figure during the rest of his life, and perhaps historically. Adams kept extolling Old World simplicity when the new nation had moved on to the post-Revolutionary War Era, a time where Adams thought far too many Americans focused on materialism.
Adams dearly missed the old times with his friends and allies, the discussions, and his behind-the-scenes shenanigans that stirred things up in the manner in which he desired. Nothing invigorated Adams like dissent, and those opportunities for him were very scarce after the Revolutionary War. Adams was very concerned that the hard-won liberties from the war would be sacrificed to another group of elites, this time American Elites. Adams automatically and instinctively fought against cults of personality, believing that it was wise to be on guard, since even the best of men could turn into the worst if not checked.
Adams wrote piece after piece lauding the virtues of free public education, promoting it for girls as well, which he viewed as essential for the future of the nation. By 1786, Samuel Adams was 63 years old, and he was doing his best to warn Boston and MA of the return to power of Loyalists, since they had provided aid and comfort to the British during the war. Adams thought that once back in power, these Loyalists would undermine the new nation.
Adams dearly missed the old times with his friends and allies, the discussions, and his behind-the-scenes shenanigans that stirred things up in the manner in which he desired. Nothing invigorated Adams like dissent, and those opportunities for him were very scarce after the Revolutionary War. Adams was very concerned that the hard-won liberties from the war would be sacrificed to another group of elites, this time American Elites. Adams automatically and instinctively fought against cults of personality, believing that it was wise to be on guard, since even the best of men could turn into the worst if not checked.
Adams wrote piece after piece lauding the virtues of free public education, promoting it for girls as well, which he viewed as essential for the future of the nation. By 1786, Samuel Adams was 63 years old, and he was doing his best to warn Boston and MA of the return to power of Loyalists, since they had provided aid and comfort to the British during the war. Adams thought that once back in power, these Loyalists would undermine the new nation.
Shays’ Rebellion (1786-87): The MA farmers who took up arms against the authorities in MA started with the courts that foreclosed or were about to foreclose on their farms. Ironically, they did not get the support of Samuel Adams, who for years instigated popular uprisings. To Adams, the difference between Shays’ Rebellion and his revolutionary efforts were clear, in that in his time, he was fighting against an authority imposed from Britain, whereas in the case with Shays’ Rebellion, the rebels were trying to upend freely held elected officials by the voters of MA. While Adams believed that the captured rebels should be hanged, MA Governor Hancock pardoned the prisoners, which matched the overall desire of MA. In the bigger picture, Shays’ Rebellion exposed the government under the Articles of Confederation as unable to effectively protect people or property from an uprising, which in large part led to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (May - September 1787).
At the end of 1787, the proposed Constitution reached MA for ratification, and Adams was among the over 300 selected for the state’s ratification convention. There were those that thought Adams wouldn’t bother to participate, in that he preferred a confederation over the powerful national government proposed in the Constitution. Adams, like many others in the US, wanted a Bill of Rights, and he prepared an addendum in that regard that he hoped might slow down the convention to a procedural crawl. Supposedly, Revere was the person that convinced Adams to refrain from introducing his addendum, since Boston tradesmen were in support of the proposed Constitution.
At the end of 1787, the proposed Constitution reached MA for ratification, and Adams was among the over 300 selected for the state’s ratification convention. There were those that thought Adams wouldn’t bother to participate, in that he preferred a confederation over the powerful national government proposed in the Constitution. Adams, like many others in the US, wanted a Bill of Rights, and he prepared an addendum in that regard that he hoped might slow down the convention to a procedural crawl. Supposedly, Revere was the person that convinced Adams to refrain from introducing his addendum, since Boston tradesmen were in support of the proposed Constitution.
The MA ratification convention convened on 9 January 1788, and Adams was almost entirely silent during the nearly one month session. On 6 February 1788, the convention ratified the Constitution by a vote of 187 - 168. The MA ratification convention also led to the rapprochement of Adams and Hancock, while also getting Adams to be again engaged in MA politics. Adams allowed friends to nominate him for a special winter election for a seat in the MA House from his district, but a hailstorm of abuse came his way from enemies on all fronts, wondering if he was “Federalist” enough to serve, and that he may have vilified General Washington: Adams lost badly in a landslide.
During the Spring of 1789, Hancock was reelected MA Governor, and Adams was elected Lt. Governor, in large part due to his reconciliation with Hancock. Adams had become a sort of “living monument” to the Revolution, with foreign dignitaries that visited Boston wanting first to meet him. John Adams, who was working very hard to secure his place among the leading figures of the Revolution, advised Samuel Adams to do the same, but he did no such thing. As the years passed, Samuel Adams saw history transformed into myth, living long enough to see how he was depicted in history books. Adams was deeply wounded to discover that in one historical account he was named as a participant in the Conway Cabal against Washington.
During the Spring of 1789, Hancock was reelected MA Governor, and Adams was elected Lt. Governor, in large part due to his reconciliation with Hancock. Adams had become a sort of “living monument” to the Revolution, with foreign dignitaries that visited Boston wanting first to meet him. John Adams, who was working very hard to secure his place among the leading figures of the Revolution, advised Samuel Adams to do the same, but he did no such thing. As the years passed, Samuel Adams saw history transformed into myth, living long enough to see how he was depicted in history books. Adams was deeply wounded to discover that in one historical account he was named as a participant in the Conway Cabal against Washington.
To such figures as Benjamin Rush, the real Revolution had been waged long before Lexington and Concord by men like Samuel Adams, who possessed strategic and tactical genius, being able to built unanimity around him over time. George Washington visited Boston in 1789, but Hancock deliberately made himself unavailable, thinking that Washington should call on him, rather than the other way around. Washington toured Boston, accompanied by both Samuel and John Adams. Both cousins heard people in the crowd say very complimentary things about both of them, but John Adams knew that Hancock would immediately quash any momentum from the accolades, especially towards Samuel Adams.
Hancock died in 1793 at the age of 56, with Samuel Adams presiding over the huge and lavish funeral. Adams became the MA Governor in 1793, but by then his physical strength had largely deserted him. Also by then, the
Federalists had become a de facto political party in MA, and they plotted on how to rid themselves of Adams as MA Governor. The MA Federalists actually dismissed Adams as an out-of-touch patriot, and worse yet, spread disinformation like wildfire that Adams had opposed Washington, the Constitution, and was a lackey of France. Despite the efforts of the MA Federalists, Adams was reelected MA Governor three times (one year terms).
By 1796, Vice-President (and soon to be the 2nd President) John Adams basically threw up his hands in disappointment with his cousin, exhausted by Samuel Adams’ deep distrust of the Constitution and Federalism. During early-1797, Samuel Adams retired from public service, and very few were sorry to see him leave the stage. After a short illness, Samuel Adams died on
2 October 1803 at the age of 81, with his family at his side. While thousands attended his funeral, Boston dignitaries in effect played “Hot Potato” with who would say nice things, if at all, about Adams. The new MA Governor made himself scarce, and those that did say things were intentionally vague, their comments ringing hollow.
Hancock died in 1793 at the age of 56, with Samuel Adams presiding over the huge and lavish funeral. Adams became the MA Governor in 1793, but by then his physical strength had largely deserted him. Also by then, the
Federalists had become a de facto political party in MA, and they plotted on how to rid themselves of Adams as MA Governor. The MA Federalists actually dismissed Adams as an out-of-touch patriot, and worse yet, spread disinformation like wildfire that Adams had opposed Washington, the Constitution, and was a lackey of France. Despite the efforts of the MA Federalists, Adams was reelected MA Governor three times (one year terms).
By 1796, Vice-President (and soon to be the 2nd President) John Adams basically threw up his hands in disappointment with his cousin, exhausted by Samuel Adams’ deep distrust of the Constitution and Federalism. During early-1797, Samuel Adams retired from public service, and very few were sorry to see him leave the stage. After a short illness, Samuel Adams died on
2 October 1803 at the age of 81, with his family at his side. While thousands attended his funeral, Boston dignitaries in effect played “Hot Potato” with who would say nice things, if at all, about Adams. The new MA Governor made himself scarce, and those that did say things were intentionally vague, their comments ringing hollow.
Samuel Adams was eulogized in the Boston newspapers as the “Father of the American Revolution”. In private diaries of the era, he was singled out as the prime mover of the Revolution. Very soon, however, Samuel Adams was forgotten in Boston, MA, and in the US. Adams was far more interested in ideas and idealism instead of creating and running institutions, which went a long way to explain his path to obscurity, which started during the Revolutionary War.
Adams was the “wrong kind of hero” for the Early National Period, but in 1865, the centennial of the Stamp Act, Adams made a historical comeback or sorts, with a biography published about him that same year, and a statue of him was displayed during the centennial of the Revolutionary War. Overall, Boston seemed to want to purge their history of any of Samuel Adams’ agitations and provocations, and July 4th celebrations shifted the focus away from Adams’ significance before the Declaration of Independence. Many generations later, when rebellion was reinserted into the history of the Revolution, it was done so without featuring Sameul Adams. By 1823, if Samuel Adams was remembered at all in a positive fashion, it was for opening the door for George Washington.
Adams was the “wrong kind of hero” for the Early National Period, but in 1865, the centennial of the Stamp Act, Adams made a historical comeback or sorts, with a biography published about him that same year, and a statue of him was displayed during the centennial of the Revolutionary War. Overall, Boston seemed to want to purge their history of any of Samuel Adams’ agitations and provocations, and July 4th celebrations shifted the focus away from Adams’ significance before the Declaration of Independence. Many generations later, when rebellion was reinserted into the history of the Revolution, it was done so without featuring Sameul Adams. By 1823, if Samuel Adams was remembered at all in a positive fashion, it was for opening the door for George Washington.