67 pages • 2-hour read
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Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.
John Adams is a stoic, highly educated farmer and attorney living in Braintree and Boston. He firmly believes in due process and the rule of law, preferring peaceful, legal resolutions to conflicts over violent mob action. Despite his moderate stance, his keen legal mind and sense of justice naturally draw him into the brewing political dispute with England.
Husband of Abigail Adams
Cousin of Samuel Adams
Defense Attorney for Thomas Preston
Colleague of Josiah Quincy
Ally of Joseph Warren
Colleague of George Washington
Opponent of Thomas Hutchinson
Ally of Richard Henry Lee
Benjamin is an elderly, celebrated philosopher and the colonies' official representative in the British Parliament. He maintains a transatlantic celebrity status and enjoys his expatriate lifestyle in London. His time in Europe provides him with a broad perspective, though his physical distance from America initially separates him from the immediate anger felt by the colonists.
Father of William Franklin
Friend of Will Strahan
Adversary of Thomas Hutchinson
Colleague of John Dickinson
Ally of John Adams
Opponent of King George III
Samuel is a tireless community organizer and a radical voice for the Massachusetts Sons of Liberty. He utilizes inflammatory rhetoric to incite protests and push moderate colonists toward decisive action against British taxation. He actively seeks to keep the public's attention focused squarely on the injustices of British rule.
Cousin of John Adams
Co-organizer with Joseph Warren
Ally of John Hancock
Enemy of Thomas Gage
Opponent of Thomas Hutchinson
Associate of Paul Revere
George is a Virginia plantation owner and colonel in the Virginia militia. He possesses notable military experience from the French and Indian War but harbors deep self-doubt regarding his ability to lead a massive, unified force. He projects outward discipline and dedication, tasked with transforming a diverse collection of farmers into a capable army.
Husband of Martha Washington
Colleague of John Adams
Commander of Artemas Ward
Enemy of Major Pitcairn
Former Comrade of Thomas Gage
Enemy of King George III
Thomas is the commander of British forces in the American colonies. He is a career military man tasked with maintaining order in a rebellious territory while waiting for direct, often delayed orders from London. He attempts to balance his military directives with a practical understanding of the local unrest, knowing that brute force may worsen the situation.
Husband of Margaret Gage
Subordinate to King George III
Colleague of Thomas Hutchinson
Adversary of Samuel Adams
Commander of Major Pitcairn
Opponent of George Washington
The monarch of the British Empire, ruling from an island across the Atlantic. He perceives his colonies strictly as subjects who exist to serve the empire and pay for its military protection. He relies on absolute authority, reacting to colonial protests with increasingly restrictive decrees and an open disdain for their grievances.
Commander of Thomas Gage
Adversary of Benjamin Franklin
Joseph is a Boston surgeon and an integral, behind-the-scenes organizer for the Sons of Liberty. While Samuel Adams operates as the public face of the protests, Joseph handles much of the practical organization and intelligence gathering. He steps out of his civilian profession to help prepare the local colonial militia for coming conflicts.
Abigail is the intelligent and highly capable wife of John Adams. She manages the family farm in Braintree, takes in boarders, and raises their children while her husband travels for his legal and political work. She serves as an essential voice of conscience and reason for John, challenging his assumptions about government and representation.
Wife of John Adams
Thomas is the royal governor of Massachusetts and a staunch, conservative loyalist. He firmly believes that the colonies owe absolute fealty to the king and cannot function without British guidance. He views the growing protests as the unruly actions of a mob that must be strictly disciplined before order can be restored.
John is a highly vocal and persistent conservative voice within the colonial delegation. He continually advocates for reconciliation with England, fearing that a split will leave the colonies completely vulnerable to other European empires. He values loyalty to the British system despite recognizing its ongoing flaws.
Opponent of John Adams
Colleague of Benjamin Franklin
Margaret is the American-born wife of British General Thomas Gage. She experiences a profound internal division between her love for her native land and her marriage to a high-ranking British officer. She often struggles with the painful realization that her husband's duty requires him to subjugate her fellow colonists.
Wife of Thomas Gage
Acquaintance of Joseph Warren
William is the son of Benjamin Franklin and a committed loyalist holding a powerful royal appointment in New Jersey. He views the colonial rebels as cowardly complainers and maintains an unwavering allegiance to the British crown, creating a painful ideological divide within his family.
Son of Benjamin Franklin
Will is a close English friend of Benjamin Franklin. He continually defends the British Empire's actions and policies, representing the mindset of everyday English citizens who simply cannot comprehend the colonial desire for self-governance or their resistance to taxation.
Friend of Benjamin Franklin
Paul is a Boston silversmith and an express rider for the colonial resistance. He uses his trade and social connections with the wives of British officers to gather intelligence on troop movements, rapidly relaying that information to rebel leaders across the Massachusetts countryside.
Associate of Joseph Warren
Ally of Samuel Adams
John is a wealthy Boston merchant and a prominent financial backer of the rebel cause. He uses his vast resources to support the resistance movement and serves as a highly visible leader in the colonial push against British taxation and commercial monopolies.
Ally of Samuel Adams
Colleague of George Washington
Pitcairn is a commander of British marines stationed in Boston. He operates under the assumption that the sheer sight of British uniforms will terrify the colonial militia into submission, severely underestimating the resolve of the local farmers and merchants he is sent to disarm.
Subordinate to Thomas Gage
Opponent of George Washington
Thomas is the British officer in command during the deadly confrontation between soldiers and Boston civilians. He faces severe murder charges in a hostile city and requires an impartial lawyer to defend him against a highly prejudiced public.
Client of John Adams
Commander of Hugh White
Hugh is a private in the British army. He stands sentry duty during a tense standoff with angry Boston civilians, an encounter that quickly escalates into violence and triggers a major political crisis in the colonies.
Subordinate to Thomas Preston
Josiah is a fellow Boston attorney who assists in the defense of the British soldiers following the Boston Massacre. He pressures his colleagues to use specific legal strategies that highlight the aggressive, organized behavior of the colonial mob.
Colleague of John Adams
Artemas is the commander of the Massachusetts militia. He actively resents outside interference from leaders like Washington, feeling fiercely protective of his local authority and highly skeptical of a Virginian taking control of New England troops.
Subordinate to George Washington
Richard is a highly vocal Virginia delegate at the Continental Congress. He works closely with the Massachusetts representatives to push for a unified, aggressive stance against British policies, urging his peers to formulate viable alternatives to the status quo.
Ally of John Adams