An American patriot and revolutionary politician, Adams was a cousin of John Adams. Born in Boston MA in 1722, he was educated at Harvard College. As a writer and speech maker, his ideas contributed to the dissatisfaction that the colonists felt against British rule. He opposed the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. It is thought that he gave the signal to dump the tea during the Boston Tea Party.
Adams was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and served until 1781. He was not well suited to collaborative politics and returned to Boston in 1781 to "honorable poverty." Later he served as governor of the state from 1793 to 1797. Adams is the representative of Massachusetts in Statuary Hall. He died in 1803.
