Stories of Later American History | Page 6

this, he was made commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces (1775), and the next year was elected governor of Virginia.
When the war--in the declaring of which he had taken so active a part--was over, Patrick Henry retired at the age of fifty-eight (1794), to an estate in Charlotte County called "Red Hill," where he lived a simple and beautiful life. He died in 1799.
Without doubt he was one of the most eloquent orators our country has ever produced, and we should be grateful to him because he used his great gift in helping to secure the freedom we now enjoy.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. What was the Stamp Act? Why did Parliament pass it, and why did the colonists object to it?
2. What did Patrick Henry mean by saying that the General Assembly of Virginia, and only the General Assembly of Virginia had the right and the power of laying taxes upon the people of that colony?
3. Have you in your mind a picture of young Patrick Henry as he rode on horseback along the country road toward Williamsburg? Describe this picture as clearly as you can.
4. What did William Pitt think of the Stamp Act? Why did Parliament repeal it?
5. Can you explain Patrick Henry's power as an orator? When did he make a great speech in St. John's Church, Richmond?
6. What do you admire in Patrick Henry?
7. Do not fail to locate every event upon your map.
CHAPTER II
SAMUEL ADAMS
While Patrick Henry was leading the people of Virginia in their defiance of the Stamp Act, exciting events were taking place in Massachusetts under another colonial leader. This was Samuel Adams. Even before Virginia took any action, he had introduced in the Massachusetts Assembly resolutions opposing the Stamp Act, and they were passed.
This man, who did more than any one else to arouse the love of liberty in his colony, was born in Boston in 1722. His boyhood was quite different from that of Patrick Henry. He liked to go to school and to learn from books, and he cared little for outdoor life or sport of any kind.
[Illustration: Samuel Adams.]
As he grew up, his father wished him to become a clergyman, but Samuel preferred to study law. His mother opposing this, however, he entered upon business life. This perhaps was a mistake, for he did not take to business, and, like Patrick Henry, he soon failed, even losing most of the property his father had left him.
SAMUEL ADAMS AN INSPIRING LEADER
But although not skilful in managing his own affairs, he was a most loyal and successful worker for the interests of the colony. In fact, before long, he gave up most of his private business and spent his time and strength for the public welfare.
His whole income was the very small salary which he received as clerk of the Assembly of Massachusetts. This was hardly sufficient to pay for the food needed in his household. But his wife was so thrifty and cheerful, and his friends so glad to help him out because of the time he gave to public affairs, that his home life, though plain, was comfortable, and his children were well brought up.
Poor as he was, no man could be more upright. The British, fearing his influence, tried at different times to bribe him with office under the King and to buy him with gold. But he scorned any such attempts to turn him aside from the path of duty.
The great purpose of his life seemed to be to encourage the colonists to stand up for their rights as freemen, and to defeat the plans of King George and Parliament in trying to force the colonists to pay taxes. In this he was busy night and day. In the assembly and in the town meeting all looked to him as an able leader; and in the workshops, on the streets, or in the shipyards men listened eagerly while he made clear the aims of the English King, and urged them to defend their rights as free-born Englishmen.
Even at the close of a busy day, this earnest, liberty-loving man gave himself little rest. Sometimes he was writing articles for the newspapers, and sometimes urgent letters to the various leaders in Massachusetts and in the other colonies. Long after midnight, those who passed his dimly lighted windows could see "Sam Adams hard at work writing against the Tories."
[Illustration: Patriots in New York Destroying Stamps Intended for Use in Connecticut.]
Had you seen him at this time, you would never have thought of him as a remarkable man. He was of medium size, with keen gray eyes, and hair already fast turning white. His head and hands trembled as if with age, though he was only forty-two years old and in good health.
He was a great power in the colony. Not