Samuel Adams was a Boston-born political leader who played a vital role in moving colonial America to its decisive break with Britain during the American Revolution. He was a strong opponent of British taxation and Adams helped formulate resistance to the Stamp Act and played a vital role in organizing the Boston Tea Party. He was a second cousin of U.S. President John Adams, with whom he urged a final break from Great Britain, and a signee of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.