Encore Episode: Stacy Schiff on Samuel Adams

About this episode

Stacy Schiff discusses her book on Samuel Adams and the importance of standing up for one's convictions.

“I think that I started the book,” historian Stacy Schiff says of “The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams,” “with this thirst for somebody who—I’ve just been writing about the Salem witch trials for many years. And I was looking for someone who had the courage of his convictions, to stand up and take an unpopular stand, which is something that takes a very long time for anyone to do in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692, when it was very dangerous to take that stand. As it is dangerous again in the 1760s. And Adams very much fit that description. The more time I spent with him, the more time I was convinced and remain convinced that he teaches you that one person can actually make a difference and that ideas actually matter.” In this encore episode from 2022, Lewis H. Lapham speaks with Stacy Schiff, author of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Lewis H. Lapham

Guest: Stacy Schiff

Topics covered

• American history
• Samuel Adams
• historical biography
• courage of convictions
• impact of ideas

Keywords

• Samuel Adams
• Stacy Schiff
• American Revolution
• historian
• courage
• ideas matter
• Massachusetts Bay Colony

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Places: Massachusetts Bay Colony

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