Till the close of his life he was an earnest and sincere patriot. He died in 1803, at the age of eighty-one years. Not an orator like Patrick Henry, but a man of action like Washington, he had great power in dealing with men. Truly his life was one of great and heroic service to his country. SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT 1. In what respects were Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry unlike as boys? 2. Tell why Samuel Adams had great power over men. 3. What kind of man was George III? Why did he so strongly desire that the colonists should be compelled to pay a tax to England? 4. What was the tax law of 1767, and why did the colonists object to paying the new taxes? 5. What led up to the "Boston Tea Party"? Imagine yourself one of the party, and tell what you did. 6. In what way did George III and Parliament punish Boston for throwing the tea overboard? How did the colonies help the people of Boston at this time? 7. What was the First Continental Congress, and what did it do? 8. What do you admire in Samuel Adams? CHAPTER III THE WAR BEGINS NEAR BOSTON When Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill, the King believed that such severe punishment would not only put a stop to further rebellious acts, but would cause the colonists to feel sorry for what they had done and incline them once more to obey him. Imagine his surprise and indignation at what followed! As soon as General Gage ordered that the Massachusetts Assembly should hold no more meetings, the colonists made up their minds they would not be put down in this manner. They said: "The King has broken up the assembly. Very well. We will form a new governing body and give it a new name, the Provincial Congress." [Illustration: John Hancock.] And what do you suppose the chief business of this Congress was? To make ready for war! An army was called for, and provision made that a certain number of the men enlisted should be prepared to leave their homes at a minute's notice. These men were called "minute-men." Even while the patriots, for so the rebellious subjects of King George called themselves, were making these preparations, General Gage, who was in command of the British troops in Boston, had received orders from England to seize as traitors Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were the most active leaders. [Illustration: John Hancock's Home, Boston.] Of Samuel Adams you already know. John Hancock was president of the newly made Provincial Congress. General Gage knew that Adams and Hancock were staying for a while with a friend in Lexington. He had learned also through spies that minutemen had collected some cannon and military stores in Concord, twenty miles from Boston, and only eight miles beyond Lexington. The British general planned, therefore, to send a body of troops to arrest the two leaders at Lexington, and then to push on and capture or destroy the stores at Concord. [Illustration: A Minuteman.]