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Secondary sourceDocument1905

Samuel Adams, entry by Harry A. Cushing in the New International Encyclopaedia

Harry A. Cushing · 1905

An encyclopedia article from 1905 describing Samuel Adams's education, failed business ventures, and rise in politics.

A secondary encyclopedia account describing Samuel Adams's education, business failures, and political rise.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

This entry on Samuel Adams was written by Harry A. Cushing for The New International Encyclopædia, published in New York in 1905 by Dodd, Mead and Co.

Why it matters

The article highlights how Adams struggled repeatedly in business, as a merchant, brewer, and tax collector, before devoting himself fully to politics. It links him to his relative John Adams and to his education at Harvard, where his early thesis questioned the right to resist unjust authority.

Look closer

  • Why might Adams's business failures be included in an encyclopedia about his political life?
  • What does his Harvard thesis topic suggest about his later role in the Revolution?
  • How does this account connect personal struggles to public achievements?

This document 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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