The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

The Founding Fathers of the US—figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison—are central to the nation’s foundational mythos. Traditionally, they are venerated as visionary leaders who crafted the revolutionary principles that define American political philosophy and governance. Their roles in drafting seminal documents like the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution have positioned them as creators of the nation who embody its values such as liberty, democracy, and justice. The US Founding Fathers are often depicted as monolithic paragons of virtue and wisdom, a portrayal that simplifies the complexities of these figures and their times. This traditional view tends to gloss over the contradictions inherent in their ownership of slaves, their views on race and gender, and the compromises they made to establish a lasting union.

In recent years, conversations about the Founding Fathers have evolved significantly. Scholars and the public alike are increasingly interested in a more nuanced understanding of these figures, one that critically examines their flaws and the impacts of their decisions on various groups, including enslaved people, women, and Indigenous people. This shift reflects broader societal movements toward greater historical accountability and inclusiveness. Stacy Schiff’s biography The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams enters these evolving conversations by focusing on one of the less prominently featured Founding Fathers. Samuel Adams is often overshadowed in popular historical narratives by figures like Washington or Jefferson. Schiff’s portrayal of Adams melds the historical account of his involvement in the ideological and practical underpinnings of the American Revolution with an exploration of how these activities were instrumental in forming the early American identity. The biography portrays Adams as a fervent advocate for liberty, self-governance, and resistance to tyranny and as a strategist whose actions, such as orchestrating the Boston Tea Party and fostering intercolonial communication, were crucial in uniting the colonies with shared values and objectives.

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams emerges from a blend of biographical and revisionist historical traditions, which increasingly inform contemporary historical scholarship. Her approach is distinctly revisionist in that it seeks to complicate the traditional, often simplistic narratives surrounding the Founding Fathers by presenting Samuel Adams not just as a heroic figure but also as a complex individual navigating a web of sociopolitical dynamics. By situating Adams within the complex sociopolitical networks of his time and detailing his strategic and ideological contributions, Schiff’s work strives to add depth to the understanding of the revolutionary period. Although it does contribute to venerating this often overlooked “Founding Father” through its sympathetic and largely positive portrayal, it also challenges the monolithic portrayal of the Founding Fathers by presenting Adams’s nuanced engagement with the ideas of liberty and governance and by highlighting his interactions with other revolutionary figures. Schiff’s work fits into current scholarly and public discourse by providing a portrait of a Founding Father that acknowledges both his achievements and limitations, including his moral and ethical dilemmas. Thus, Schiff is attentive to the demands of modern historiography, which values detailed, multifaceted portrayals of historical figures that challenge simplified historical accounts and recognize the complexity of historical events and personalities. This approach encourages consideration of the broader implications of the revolutionaries’ actions and beliefs in the context of their time and the trajectory of US history, seeking a more critical and comprehensive engagement with the nation’s founding narratives.