Synopsis
Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician offers a fresh full-life biography of the man Thomas Jefferson once described as the helmsman of the American Revolution. In his study, historian John K. Alexander uses narrative history to argue that Samuel Adams was both America's first professional politician and its first modern politician. Adams, Alexander argues, was an unwavering politician who strove to protect the people's basic rights and who emphasized the importance of virtue, liberty, a sense of duty, and education in fashioning a republican society. John Alexander's fresh reading of Adams' record, and a uniquely close look into his personal life, uncovers a masterful politician and a man consistent in his beliefs.
Booknews
Alexander (history, U. of Cincinnati) narrates the life of American Revolutionary leader and later Governor of Massachusetts Samuel Adams (1722-1803). Besides the usual conclusions that Adams was a skillful politician who helped bring ordinary people into the political process, the biography examines Adam's contribution to the changing role of women by opening up educational opportunities and his attempts to build a "virtuous society" by protecting constitutional liberties. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)