Station #1: Samuel Adams
Sam Adams was a Revolutionary War leader who signed
the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of
Confederation.
From 1765 to 1775, Sam Adams was one of the most
important political leaders in Boston. The city of Boston was
the center of the colonial resistance against British rule. After
graduating from Harvard College, he tried to start a series of
businesses, including starting a newspaper; he also served as a
tax collector in Boston from 1756 to 1765. He was not very
successful at any of these things.
Eventually, he was elected to the Massachusetts
assembly where he served as a clerk from 1765 to 1780. He
played a leading role in organizing the assembly’s opposition to
British taxation. In addition, he was also an active member of
the Loyal Nine, the North End Caucus, and the Sons of Liberty. He argued that
Parliament and loyalists wanted to enslave the colonists and take away their liberties.
In addition to writing about the wrongness of British taxation, he also organized
many successful demonstrations and protests. In 1772, he created the Boston committee of
correspondence. This helped to coordinate resistance throughout Massachusetts by
keeping information flowing from the city of Boston to the towns in the rest of the colony.
Adams played his greatest role in the revolutionary movement before the
Revolutionary War. During and after the war, he represented Massachusetts as a delegate
at several different meetings including the First Continental Congress.
Adams was one of the earliest supporters of independence from Great Britain. He
also served on many different committees that helped to manage the war effort. After the
war, he signed the Articles of Confederation. This was the first government established by
the newly independent states. This government did not last, and delegates who met in
Philadelphia to make changes to it instead wrote the U.S. Constitution. Sam Adams did
not support the U.S. Constitution originally. He was not a great supporter of centralized
power and the idea of a president (someone who might end up acting a lot like a king) was
not something he agreed with. He was an anti-Federalist (people who did not support the
U.S. Constitution). Eventually, after a Bill of Rights was added, Samuel Adams
reluctantly gave his support. His support played a key role in the Constitution being
signed by several other political leaders who were hesitant to have a single leader.
Station #2 – Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry is known as one of the best public speakers in American History. His
most famous lines were, “If this be treason, make the most of it,” and, “Give me liberty or
give me death.”
He was one of the first people in the colonies to support American independence, or
the idea that the colonies should separate from Great Britain. Eventually when the
American colonies did gain independence, he supported the addition of a Bill of Rights
onto the U.S. Constitution.
He had his first clash with the British when he
was serving as a colonel in the Virginia militia. He
marched to the Virginia capital after the governor
(appointed by the king) seized gun powder that had
been set aside for the Virginia militia, and then forced
the governor to return the gunpowder to the militia’s
control. This later became known as the “Gunpowder
Affair.”
As a delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses,
he became a radical who spoke out against England and
their attempt to force taxes on the colonists who did not
have any representation in Parliament. In addition to
working toward American independence, he also helped
to write the Virginia Constitution by drafting the
religious freedom section.
In 1776, Patrick Henry was elected governor of Virginia, he remained in that
position until 1779. Although he was not involved directly in the battles of the American
Revolution, he supplied men from Virginia for George Washington’s army and for the local
militias, helped Daniel Boone and westerners in Kentucky who were fighting against
Native Americans and the British, and supported Colonel George Rogers Clark in the
Northwest Territory.
After the American Revolution, Patrick Henry continued to work for individual
freedom. Elected governor of Virginia again in 1784, he fought for support of the Virginia
Religious Freedom Act of 1785. In 1794, he retired and went back to being a lawyer.
Although he was offered many important positions, such as chief justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court, secretary of state, and ambassador to Spain and France, he declined them
all because of his health.
Station #3 – Paul Revere
Paul Revere was a skilled silversmith and an intelligent businessman. Over time,
he has become an American icon after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul
Revere’s Ride” was written in 1860.
After his father’s death, Paul Revere continued the family’s business and gained a
reputation throughout the colonies as a master silversmith. In addition to his own
personal business, he served as a second lieutenant in the French and Indian War. After
his campaign against the French failed, he returned to Boston and
in addition to his family’s business began to engrave copper plates
and practice as a dentist to make extra money.
He was very involved in the St. Andrew’s Lodge of
Freemasons. Members of this club would discuss business as well
as Enlightenment ideas that would eventually influence how they
reacted to events in Boston. He also joined the Sons of Liberty and
the North End Caucus. Around this time, he also began engraving
political cartoons for the Boston Gazette. His engraving “The
BLOODY MASSACRE perpetrated in King Street,” fueled the
anger of the American colonists.
In 1774, he became the direct link between the Boston Committee of
Correspondence and the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia by sharing and
spreading information about resistance in Massachusetts. He also gathered intelligence on
the movement of British soldiers. His spying led to his famous ride on the night of April
18, 1775 where he rode to warn the colonists of Lexington that the British were coming.
During the American Revolution, Revere served as lieutenant colonel in the
Massachusetts militia. He also opened a powder mill where he cast musket balls and
cannons for the Continental army. He was also commissioned (picked) to design and print
the first Continental currency and the first official seal.
His military career ended when he was accused of insubordination (not following
directions or talking back to leader) in the summer of 1779. Although he was eventually
acquitted (charges were dropped), his time in the military was over.
He later returned to Boston and his business. Eventually he also became involved in
importing European goods and started a small hardware store. His success in business
continued after he opened the first copper rolling mill in the U.S.; his company provided
the sheeting for the USS Constitution and the dome of the Massachusetts State House.
Station #4 – Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was a popular writer who spread the ideas of the American
Revolution throughout the colonies. He also tried to spread these ideas in Europe, but
wasn’t as successful.
Paine was born in England. After a few years of schooling, he
began to work for his father. Eventually he became a tax collector, but was fired when he
tried to organize the other tax collectors together to demand higher salaries in 1772.
In 1774, he met Benjamin Franklin who was visiting
London. Franklin encouraged him to move to the American
colonies and gave him letters of recommendation to help him
get a job. Paine quickly moved to Philadelphia.
In the spring of 1775, he published an attack on slavery,
but then got swept up in the excitement of revolutionary ideas.
In January 1776, he published Common Sense, a small book
that explained that the colonies were too large to be dominated
by the British and that the colonists should fight for
independence. His writing was easy to understand because it
was written in simple language and sold over half a million
copies.
In December 1776, he started writing The Crisis (also known as the American Crisis
Papers), which encouraged the revolution even more. While he did volunteer in the
Continental Army, he quickly returned to politics and in 1777 he became the secretary of
the Continental Congress’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (he was forced to resign after
giving up secret information).
In 1787, Paine moved back to England. His essay The Rights of Man supported the
French Revolution and attacked institutions (things in place) in England. He fled to
France where he was elected into the French National Convention. He didn’t fit in there
either though, he voted against beheading King Louis XVI and was thrown in jail by the
radical Jacobins. While in prison he wrote The Age of Reason, which was anti-religious.
He was invited to the United States in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson. He
began to write again against the Federalist Party (against the U.S. Constitution) and
religion leading him to become even less popular.
Station #5 – George Washington
George Washington was the first president of the United States, was commander in
chief of the Continental forces during the Revolutionary War, and president of the 1787
Constitutional Convention. His personality and leadership, both politically and militarily,
played key roles in the success of the American Revolution and establishment of a united
nation.
George Washington was born in Virginia in 1732. He had
very little formal education and was raised by his brother after
his father died in 1743. His brother’s wife had many connections
through her family, and at the age of twenty-one, George
Washington was appointed a major in the Virginia militia and
quickly became a colonel. He fought throughout the French and
Indian War, and eventually retired from the military and
returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon.
He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in
1759 and served until 1774. Early on, he opposed colonial rule,
criticized the Stamp Act, and supported the colonial protests in
Boston. He was one of the first people to see the problems of
other colonies as the problem of all of the colonies (unity).
Although he did not want to command the Continental army, he knew that he was
the only man who would be able to. Washington used the guerilla tactics he learned
during the French and Indian War. One of his most famous battles took place on
Christmas Eve where he led a surprise raid on Trenton and then continued to attack at
Princeton. While Washington lost more battles than he won, many of those he did win
played a major role in the overall war.
After the Revolutionary War, he went back to Mount Vernon to live a quiet life. He
was called out of retirement to be in charge of the Constitutional Convention. This was
also where he was unanimously elected the first president of the United States of America.
As President, George Washington set a very important precedent or rule. He stayed in
office for two terms (eight years) and left office knowing that he could have remained
president as long as he wanted. This was extremely important to people who were worried
about a president wanting to be a lot like a king.
Station #6 – Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson supported religious freedom, wrote the
Declaration of Independence, and founded the University of Virginia.
He was an important diplomat for the United States and was the
founder of the Republican Party. He also served as the first
Secretary of State, second Vice President, third President, governor
of Virginia, and participated in four different legislatures
(representative bodies).
During a dinner at the White House honoring American Nobel
Prize winners, President John F. Kennedy said, “I think that this is
the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge,
that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the
possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
Jefferson was taught by tutors and went to live at several different boarding schools
until he was sixteen; he then went to the College of William and Mary where he learned
more about science and math. Jefferson left without graduating in 1762 and began to
study law. He became a successful attorney and then became extremely involved in
politics.
In 1769, Jefferson began his political career when he was elected to the House of
Burgesses in Virginia. He became a patriot leader and wrote for the Virginia Committee of
Correspondence. In 1774, he wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America,
which argued that Parliament didn’t have any authority over the colonies or forcing a
connection between the colonists and the king. Although Jefferson is well known for his
ability as a writer, he never became a skilled public speaker (orator).
In 1800, Jefferson was nominated for President. His election was called the
“Revolution of 1800”; he cut spending and succeeded in cutting the federal debt by over
30%. He also purchased the Louisiana Territory from France and sent Lewis and Clark on
an expedition to explore the newly gained land.
His luck and success did not continue into his second term. The Nonimportation Act
of 1806 and Embargo Act of 1807 backfired. He hoped that by refusing to buy goods from
England and France, the two countries would stop attacking American ships, but it didn’t
work. After he retired from the presidency, he continued as an advisor to James Madison
and James Monroe. He died at Monticello on July 4, 1826, just a few hours before his
friend John Adams. Both died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
Station #7 – John Adams
John Adams served as a diplomat, first vice president, and second president of the
United States. He graduated from Harvard in 1755, and was
admitted to the bar in 1758. He established his own successful law
office in Boston. He was not a patriot from the start, but he was
provoked by the Stamp Act because of the added tax on legal
documents.
He is also well known for defending the British officers
involved in the Boston Massacre. He successfully argued their case
and the soldiers were found innocent of murder.
Although some people argue that John Adams had a difficult
personality to work with, he is credited with many great decisions
and compromises including: selecting Thomas Jefferson to write the
Declaration of Independence, convincing the Dutch to loan the US
money to pay of the Revolutionary War, and suggesting that George Washington be the
commander in chief.
John Adams did not participate in the writing of the U.S. Constitution. During this
time his was an ambassador in Great Britain. During his time as Vice President, he
gained great popularity when American representatives were insulted in France.
Eventually this became known as the XYZ Affair, but because John Adams stood up to the
French (a country that was much wealthier and much more established than the United
States) people rallied behind him.
But his popularity did not last long. He later negotiated a treaty with Napoleon
which angered many colonists and a lot of politicians. They enacted laws like the Alien
and Sedition Acts which were a major infringement on free speech.
He has been criticized for being too ambitious and making poor decisions, but five
times he acted against his own ambition by making decisions that made a lasting impact
on the United States: pushing for Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of
independence, urging George Washington to be the commander in chief of the
Revolutionary armies, he didn’t take sides on the Constitution debate which hurt his own
political future, and he kept the U.S. out of war with either/both France and England, and
selecting John Marshall as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Adams died on
July 4, 1826, the same day as his long-time friend Thomas Jefferson.
Name: _________________________________________
8th Grade S.S-Period:______________
Date: ____________
Ms. Didyoung
Great Men during American Colonial and Founding Period
Directions: Use the station readings to take notes on each individual from the
Revolutionary period. You should have at least 6 bullet points per person. Work to pick out
essential information about each individual and focus on their role in being a leader in the
American Revolutionary War and how they helped to shape the United States.
Famous Individual
Samuel Adams
Patrick Henry
Paul Revere
Information
Thomas Paine
George
Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams