Important people (so far) and important terms (so far)

John Adams (1735-1826)

A regular diarist, prolific writer and correspondent. Born in Massachusetts. A Harvard graduate who became a successful Boston solicitor with Whig Sympathies. He defended the British soldiers who shot the citizens in the Boston Massacre. By 1770 he had become a prominent member of the Sons of Liberty. In his essays Novanglus (1774-5) he defended colonial resistance and argued that the British Empire was, in reality, a league of autonomous entities. During the war he was sent as a diplomatic representative to the Dutch Republic and he had the responsibility for opening negotiations with Britain. He was one of the three men who negotiated the treaty of Paris and ended the war.

Sam Adams (1722-1803)

A founder of the Sons of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence, he played a key role in resistance to British rule in New England. Graduated from Harvard with an established prejudice against British authority. He became James Otis’s lieutenant in the struggle against British authority. From 1770 he assumed more of a leadership role in the colonial cause in Massachusetts and played a major part in the organisation and execution of the Boston Massacre and the Tea Party. He was a crucial propagandist with a constant stream of articles in the New England press. He was a delegate to both Continental Congresses and played an important role in the move to declare independence.

 

Benjamin Edes (1732-1803)

In 1755, he became, with John Gill, editor and proprietor of the Boston Gazette  which was a key propaganda tool used effectively by all the Whigs, but especially by Sam Adams in opposing the Royal governor and British Policy. Eds was a member of the Sons of Liberty and the Boston Caucus, and the influential ‘Loyal Nine” which masterminded many protests against the British. It was said that the Mohawks of the Boston first met for a drink at his premises before smearing ink from the Gazette on their faces and making their way to the docks. “The temper of the people may be surely learned from the infamous paper” (Andrew Oliver)

John Hancock (1737-1793)

In 1764 he inherited the largest fortune in Massachusetts on the death of his  uncle, and became responsible for a large trading area. In 1765 Sam Adams began to introduce him to Whig politics. He became a leading member of the Sons of liberty, often financing may adventures, advertisements and so on. The finance provided was crucial in helping gain support and motivate protesters. It was said of him that “his brains were shallow and pockets deep” Tories often referred to him as the “milch cow” of the revolution.

The Loyal Nine

The men in this group were the secret and highly influential nucleus of the Boston Sons of Liberty. They organised and coordinated many of the protests against the Royal governor and British policy. The following were all known to be members but at times they were joined by various others-the name is a title rather than an exact count of members.

·         Benjamin Edes

·         John Adams

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

Patrick Henry was a Virginian lawyer, colonial politician and radical who became one of the American Revolution’s best known orators. While farming he read law books in his spare time; in 1760 he was granted a lawyer’s license, despite never having graduated. In 1763 Henry achieved a degree of prominence when he represented Hanover County in the ‘Parson’s Cause’ case, a civil hearing centring on the payment of Anglican priests in Virginia. Henry argued forcefully against both the rights of Anglican clergy and the limits of British authority in the American colonies. Despite having little wealth and negligible experience, Henry was elected to the Virginia legislature, the House of Burgesses, in 1765. Weeks after taking his seat he responded to the Stamp Act by introducing the Virginia Resolves, challenging parliament’s right to pass revenue measures in America. Folklore attributes several provocative statements to him, including “If this be treason, make the most of it” (1765) and “Give me liberty or give me death” (1774) – however there is no extant historical evidence to suggest he uttered those exact words. What is certainly verifiable is that Henry’s oratory was angry and radical, and sometimes exceeded standards of the time. Henry attended both Continental Congresses, though he contributed little; his real niche was in Virginian politics and he refused several offers to serve in the national government. Henry was a supporter of American independence but later an opponent of the Constitution, becoming probably the most famous leader of the anti-Federalist movement.

James Otis

James Otis (1725-1783) was a Massachusetts lawyer and politician, best known for coining the slogan “taxation without representation is tyranny”. Born in Cape Cod, Otis was the son of a prominent lawyer and the brother of Mercy Otis Warren, a future chronicler of the revolution. He was educated at Harvard then began practising law in Boston. In the early 1760s Otis began representing colonial merchants who were seeking relief from the hated writs of assistance (search warrants). He delivered long but eloquent courtroom speeches, challenging the legality of the writs of assistance, describing them as the “worst instrument of arbitrary power”. In the mid-1760s Otis penned several tracts asserting the rights of the American colonists to oppose taxation and intrusive measures decided in London. This made Otis one of the earliest of the revolutionaries (one historian dubbed him the “pre-revolutionist”) – but he advocated reform and purification of the status quo rather than American independence from Britain. Otis also sat as a member of the Massachusetts legislature, however mental illness saw him withdraw from public and political life in the late 1760s. He lived long enough to see an American victory in the Revolutionary War, dying after a lightning strike.

Paul Revere (1734-1818)

Paul Revere (1734-1818) was a Boston artisan who became a prominent revolutionary and member of the Sons of Liberty.  Revere served briefly with the Massachusetts militia during the French and Indian War, before returning to take over his father’s silversmithing business on his 21st birthday. Like most other Boston businessmen, Revere was affected by and opposed to the British revenue policies of 1764-65. In the mid- to late-1760s he became an important street-level revolutionary leader, attending clandestine meetings and producing engravings and other objects with anti-British slogans or themes. Revere’s political activities increased with the arrival of British troops in Boston. He is well known for copying Henry Pelham’s drawing of the March 1770 shootings and selling it as The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street. He was later instrumental in the Committees of Safety, which monitored and reported on British military in Boston. Revere has been feted as a revolutionary hero for his 1775 ride to warn of British troops approaching Lexington and Concord – however both the importance of this, as well as Revere’s personal contribution, have been greatly exaggerated.