Samuel Adams

Prior to that, the attitude was, "If you don't like our denomination, fine, start your own colony." [laughs] It was one denomination per colony.

And so they had a motion at the First Continental Congress to h- to have prayer, and the delegate from South Carolina, Rutledge, and the delegate from New York, Jay, said, "Uh, we don't want to hear a prayer from another denomination." John Adams writes, "We were so divided in our religious sentiments that we couldn't join together in the same act of worship." Sam Adams stands up, he goes, "I'm no bigot.

I can hear a prayer of any man of piety who at the same time is a patriot of our country." And so they have the Reverend Jacob Duché, they have the prayer, they're kneeling and they're crying and...

So America started with Christians that didn't always agree doctrinally on everything, but we all loved Jesus.

Not Tommy Boy Hutchison.

It was basically the Sons of Liberty and the rabble that had been roused by the likes of Samuel Adams and a couple other key figures are starting.

Names we also recognize from later parts are starting to get involved in our story post Boston Massacre.

John Adams plays a huge role coming up here in just a sec.

It's true.

But speaking of Samuel Adams, we have a rule to follow, and that rule is where we tell you all that we have merch.

I am currently wearing our Samuel Adams would be mad about this shirt, because I promise you he would.

And we also... have a shirt representing his dog that was trained to bite red codes.

He sent out a proclamation, saying that if the colonists would lay down their guns and say they were sorry, he would see that the government of England forgave them, and receive them into English favor again.

All but Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

Those two men, he said, were past forgiveness, and ought rather to be hanged.

It is needless to say that the colonists were not at all moved by General Gage's generous offer of forgiveness.

And it's interesting, a Presbyterian, John Jay, who became the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court said, no, no, no, no, no, we can't do that.

we have so many different denominations here and he was joined by a man from south carolina rutledge of south carolina who also was a very very dismantled no there's too many denominations and at that point that samuel adams stood up and said you know he said i'm a man of strong religious faith and i'm willing to listen to any person who fears god and will offer prayer and he said i I suggest that not only we offer prayer, he suggested a guy named Reverend Jacob Duchesne.

Now, Sam Adams is what was called a Puritan.

He was out of Massachusetts and the Puritans were most heavily persecuted by the Anglicans.

From the state of Pennsylvania, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross from the state of Delaware, Cesar Rodney, George Reed, Thomas McKean from the state of New York, William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris from the state of New Jersey, Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark, From the state of New Hampshire, Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple.

From the state of Massachusetts, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Payne, Elbridge Gary.

From the state of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery.

From Connecticut, Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

[gentle music]

Some say it all happened because of Hancock and Adams, and some put it back to the Stamp Act and before.

Then there's some that hold out for Paul Revere and his little silver box.

But the way I heard it, the American Revolution broke out because of Lige Butterwick and his tooth.

Have you seen them yet?

Seen who?

Why, Hancock and Adams, of course.

John Hancock and Sam Adams.