Sam Adam's Day Celebration

Stimley's is the setting for the LPLP's annual 100 Days to Victory Campaign
Kickoff. Join area Libertarian Party supporters as we rally around our
candidates for the 2008 general election. Food and drink will be available
for purchase. For further information, give Chair Andy Wolf a call at
[masked].

Why Samuel Adams?

Long before Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in
1776, Samuel Adams wrote a school paper about the right for fairness and
justice in government. Samuel developed his ideas about freedom while
studying the theories of John Locke at Harvard College in the 1740s.

After completing his studies, Samuel returned to Boston, Massachusetts to
work for his father. He began to question the fairness of the laws imposed
by the governor, who was appointed by the British government. Samuel and his
father spent several years trying to prevent British officials from taking
their home and land.

Samuel believed the colonists had a right to elect their own government
officials and he began to convince others about their rights for fairness,
justice and representation. He wrote newspaper articles and essays and
promoted his ideas at taverns and meetings. As a result he formed the
Country Party, which included farmers who supported his ideas.

Conflict with colonists and the British Government grew worse in the 1760s
and 1770s when the British Parliament imposed new tax laws on the colonists.
Samuel and the members of the Country Party opposed these laws. Samuel
organized a group called the "Sons of Liberty," who resisted the tea tax by
secretly dumping tea into Boston harbor in the famous "Tea Party." Samuel
saw the need to expand his cause, and he began to make his case for
independence to John Adams, his second cousin, and a wealthy merchant named
John Hancock.

Samuel proposed a meeting with representatives of all the colonies to
discuss their problems with the British Parliament. The Continental Congress
first met in Philadelphia in 1774. Just as he had in Boston,Samuel promoted
his ideas for independence with the other delegates. Two years later, the
Continental Congress met again in Philadelphia. They adopted the Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776, and Samuel signed it.

Samuel continued to represent the people of Boston, and he ultimately served
as president of the Massachusetts Senate. He voted for the Constitution in
1788, but strongly supported the need for a bill of rights. He spent the
rest of his life as a voice for reform, and he died in Boston in 1803.
Samuel's strong belief in independence and his ability to persuade support
for the cause of freedom earned him the name "the Father of the American
Revolution."

*from* http://www.whitehouse...