[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 16551-16552] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]REMARKS OF AMANDA PEARSON--``SAM ADAMS: FATHER OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION'' ______ HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO of illinois in the house of representatives Tuesday, July 25, 2000 Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I was visited recently by Amanda Pearson of Rockford, Illinois. Amanda is in high school. When I discovered that her essay on Sam Adams had been placed in God's World News, I requested that she send me a copy. The article is so timely that I believe more Americans need to know this story. I commend this article to my colleagues and other readers of the Record. Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution (By Amanda Pearson) ``We must do something. The present situation cannot remain untouched.'' The middle-aged man of about 48 mulled these thoughts over as he paced steadily toward the Boston building that sheltered the town meetings. Samuel Adams shuddered, pulled his jacket closer around him and continued his musing. ``The day before yesterday, March 5, several colonists were killed right here in Boston, when those oppressive British regulars opened fire.'' ``We are being ruled by a pure tyrant,'' he muttered under his breath. ``How long must we suffer under a power that violates the laws of nature and of nature's God?'' He turned a corner and walked along the street toward the building at the end. His thoughts turned back to the massacre. ``Yes,'' Mr. Adams thought. ``We must fight to remove the British from Boston before more difficulties arise!'' With that, he marched up the steps and into the building. Yes, Samuel Adams did succeed in getting those British troops removed from Boston. In fact, he became known as the ``Father of the American Revolution.'' Young Sam Samuel Adams was an older cousin of John Adams, who eventually became president of the United States. Samuel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sept. 22, 1722. His father was well-to-do and provided his son with a good education. And Samuel proved to be studious. At 18, he graduated from Harvard, a college with strong Christian roots. Once he was done with his schooling, he was apprenticed to a well-established merchant in Boston. Eventually, Samuel set up his own business. But he did not care for that profession. He was more interested in politics and the current situation of the colonies. sam's young family Samuel married Elizabeth Checkley in October of 1749. Only two of the couple's five children--Samuel Adams Jr. and Hannah--reached adulthood. And his wife, Elizabeth died on July 25, 1757. Seven years later, Sam married Elizabeth Wells, an industrious woman who helped her step-children and husband to live comfortably in spite of Samuel's small income. Samuel reared his family on Christian principles. The Bible was read every night in the Adams household. Toward Revolution Samuel Adams knew that the British and King George III of England were treating the colonists unfairly. The people tried to settle their problems with the government peacefully. But the British wouldn't listen, and things continued to simmer towards a boil. In 1763, Samuel was one of the first to propose that the American colonies become united to fight against England. Seven years later, he was serving as spokesman for Boston after the Boston Massacre occurred. In 1772, he launched the Committees of Correspondence with the help of Richard Henry Lee. The Committees provided the colonists with the latest current events and kept them up-to- date on British activities. The Committees The Committees had three goals: 1. to delineate the rights the Colonists had as men, as Christians, and as subjects of the crown; 2. to detail how these rights had been violated; and 3. to publicize throughout the Colonies the first two items. One of the documents that the Committees of Correspondent distributed in late 1772 was the ``Rights of The Colonists'' that Sam Adams had written. His Christian character and knowledge of Scripture were apparent as he wrote: ``The Rights of the Colonists as Christians. These may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.'' For God and Country In 1774, the British governor of Massachusetts attempted to quiet Sam Adams. He offered him a high rank in the colonial government. However, Sam refused to be silenced. ``I trust I have long since made my peace with the King of kings. No personal consideration shall induce me to abandon the righteous cause of my country,'' he said. ``Tell Governor Gage, it is the advice of Samuel Adams to him, no longer to insult the feelings of an exasperated people.'' Honor In 1774, Samuel Adams was elected as a delegate of Massachusetts to the Continental Congress. There in 1776 he eagerly signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring the colonies free from England. [[Page 16552]] In 1778, after the Revolution, Mr. Adams eventually supported Massachusetts' ratification of the U.S. Constitution, although at first he refused to do so. He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1793 to 1797 then retired from public service altogether. Glory At the end of his life on earth, Samuel Adams made a final statement of his beliefs in his will: ``Principally and first of all, I reccommend my soul to that Almighty Being who gave it and my body I commit to the dust, relying upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.'' He died in 1803 at the age of 82, a Founding Father, ``Firebrand of the Revolution,'' and most important, a Christian man. ____________________