Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution, Mark Puls

The dis-oriented author is a history buff. As I have been reading about the founding fathers one of the characters that has remained a mystery to me is Samuel Adams. Thus when I saw Puls' Samuel Adams, I knew I had to read it.

All I knew about Samuel Adams was that he was a brewer and a cousin of John Adams. After reading this book, I agree, Samuel Adams really is the Father of the American Revolution.

In history there have always been those rare individuals who could see the future. Not prophets in the religious sense, rather individuals who understood history and the times in which they lived  in such a way that they could see what was coming. In many cases, these people not only foresaw but shaped events. Of all the founding fathers, Samuel Adams was one of these men.

Puls' book follows the life of this most visionary of the founding fathers. The most important thing I learned about Adams was that he was the first of the founding fathers to understand that America was destined to become a separate nation. But not only did Adams see the future, he helped shape the future.

Everyone knows that the leaders of the revolution, and the Continental Congress were from Virginia. I guess I had never asked myself why. The reason the Virginians were so influential was Samuel Adams.

Adams of course was from Boston. Boston was the hotbed of revolutionary thought in America and Adams was in the center of it all.  Adams was afraid that the British would divide and conquer. He was the one who formed the Committees of Correspondence to that stepped into the void in the colonies when the royal governors disbanded the various colonial legislatures. Using these committees he helped the southern colonies to realize that their fortunes were united with the fortunes of the northern colonies. Adams also knew that the revolution would need to include leaders from the south in order to unite the colonists. It was his  interaction with the Virginia Committees of Correspondence that helped the Virginians like Madison, Washington, Jefferson, Mason and others to rise to prominence.

Adams made the revolution his life's work. His business was a failure and his family barely had enough money to buy food and pay bills most of the time. By the time the revolution began, Adams' work was done.

History has not been kind to Adams. His name should be in the American Pantheon along with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and all the others. In fact his name should probably be first.

When Benjamin Franklin was in England arguing that the colonists should have all the rights of Englishmen, Adams was pushing for creation of a new nation.

Puls' book helps put this extraordinary man in his rightful place.

Samuel Adams gets 5 of 5 dis-oriented smileys

Purchase Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution  from Amazon.com.