From this time on Patrick Henry was in the forefront of the struggle with England. Virginia sent him to Congress, then she made him an officer in the army, and finally not only made him the first governor after independence was declared, but elected him to that office three times in succession, and offered him the same office three times more. [Illustration: PATRICK HENRY _From the bronze figure of the Washington monument by Crawford at Richmond_] After independence was won Patrick Henry opposed the adoption of our constitution, although Washington, Madison, and many of his friends were in favor of it. When, however, he saw that the new constitution was a good one, he gave his support to his friend, President Washington. [Sidenote: =Patrick Henry in his old age=] Patrick Henry finally retired to his plantation and refused all offers of office. Many old friends and many great strangers went to visit him in his old age as one of the great men of the American Revolution. In the year of his death (1799), when some danger threatened Virginia, Patrick Henry came forth at Washington's request, old and feeble as he was, and aroused the people once more with his burning words. They elected him to the House of Burgesses by a great majority, but he did not live to take office. SAMUEL ADAMS, THE FIREBRAND OF THE REVOLUTION [Sidenote: =Samuel Adams the pen of the Revolution=] =85. Samuel Adams.= While Patrick Henry was stirring the feelings of the people by his fiery eloquence, Samuel Adams was stirring them by strong arguments in his writings, to oppose the acts of king and of Parliament. [Sidenote: =A student=] Samuel Adams was born in Massachusetts (1722). While he loved school and books he cared very little for spending his time in outdoor amusements. At eighteen Samuel was graduated from Harvard College. His parents hoped that he would be a minister, but he began to study law. His mother was so opposed to his becoming a lawyer that he gave up the study and turned to business. He set up in business for himself, but, like Patrick Henry, soon lost all. He next went into business with his father, but in that, too, he failed. Finally Samuel Adams turned to politics. [Illustration: SAMUEL ADAMS _From the original painting by John Singleton Copley, representing Adams in 1771, now hanging in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston_] [Sidenote: =Early love for politics=] While a student in Harvard he had debated the question whether it was right to resist the king to save the country from ruin. He took an active part in debating clubs and very soon began to write for the newspapers, encouraging resistance. He never hesitated to take what he thought the right side of any question. [Sidenote: =Why Adams opposed the Stamp Act=]