With eloquence equal to Jefferson and Tom Paine, Adams helped ignite the flame of liberty and made sure it glowed even during the Revolution's darkest hours. He was, as Jefferson later observed, "truly the man of the Revolution." Adams played a pivotal role not fully appreciated until now in the events leading up to the confrontation with the British. Believing that God willed a free American nation, he was among the first to call for independence. He saw the opportunity to stir things up after the Boston Massacre and helped plan and instigate the Boston Tea Party. A fiery newspaper editor, he railed ceaselessly against "taxation without representation" and argued the urgency of revolution. When the top British general in America offered a general amnesty in 1775 to all who would lay down their arms, he excepted only John Hancock and Samuel Adams: these two were destined for the gallows.--From publisher description.