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Primary sourcePaintingbefore 1776

Samuel Adams Engraving by an Unidentified Artist

Unidentified artist · before 1776

An engraving made before 1776 showing Samuel Adams as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, holding a document about Canada.

A lifetime engraving of Adams as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, linked to debates over Canada.

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Engraving of Samuel Adams seated on a table edge, holding a document labeled Canada, with a map of Canada on the wall and a street view through a window. Caption below names him as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress.
Unidentified artist, Samuel Adams, before 1776. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

About this source

What it is

This engraving of Samuel Adams, made before 1776 by an unidentified artist, shows him seated and holding a document labeled 'Canada', with a map of Canada on the wall behind him. It is held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Why it matters

Made during Adams's lifetime, while he was active in the Continental Congress, this image connects him directly to the colonies' debates over Canada's role during the Revolutionary period. It is an early visual record of how Adams was presented publicly as a political leader of his time.

Look closer

  • Why might the artist have included a map of Canada and a document labeled 'Canada' in this portrait?
  • What does the caption naming Adams as a 'Massachusetts delegate' tell you about how he wanted to be seen?
  • How does this image compare to other portraits of Adams made later in his life?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Declaration of Independence

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Primary source

Instructions of the Town of Boston to its Representatives

Samuel Adams · May 1764

Oil portrait of a man with white hair, wearing a dark red coat over a waistcoat and white cravat. He stands beside a table holding a rolled document and pointing at a sealed scroll with a green wax seal. Dark background.Painting

Primary source

Samuel Adams

John Singleton Copley · 1772

Scan of the handwritten Articles of Confederation manuscript on aged, cream-colored paper. The ornate heading reads 'To all to whom these Presents shall come'. Dense cursive text fills the page in columns, with article headings visible.Document

Primary source

Articles of Confederation

Continental Congress · 1777

Printed broadside of the Continental Association, dated Philadelphia, October 20, 1774, with large headline text and columns of dense type. Lists of signatures of delegates from colonies are printed at the bottom. Handwritten marks and notes appear at the lower left.Document

Primary source

Continental Association

First Continental Congress · 20 October 1774

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