Biographer Stacy Schiff Joins the Museum to Discuss Samuel Adams’s Role at the First Continental Congress, Jan. 31

Discussion and Q+A Will Be Held in the Museum’s Liberty Hall and Livestreamed Online

Part of the Museum’s Popular Read the Revolution Speaker Series

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff will join the Museum of the American Revolution on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. for an evening discussion with Museum President and CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, inspired by her most recent book, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, and Adams’s attendance at the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall in 1774. The evening will be held in partnership with The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, who are celebrating their 300th anniversary as well as the 250th anniversaries of the First Continental Congress and the completion of Carpenters’ Hall.

As Schiff argues in The Revolutionary, Samuel Adams was a political genius who was rare for his ability to keep a secret and saw democracy as a virtue. As an early and fiery advocate for American independence, he did not preen for posterity. Adams wrote no memoir, resisted calls to assemble his political writings, and was often confused with his younger cousin John Adams’s prolific writing for the historical record. Elected to represent Boston in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1765, the Harvard-educated politician praised the 1773 Boston Tea Party as an act of resistance. In 1774, the 51-year-old was among the oldest delegates at the First Continental Congress at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson called Samuel Adams “the earliest, most active, and persevering man of the Revolution,” and he retired from political life in 1797 as acting governor of Massachusetts.

This hybrid program will be held in the Museum’s Liberty Hall and will be livestreamed online for ticketed guests. Following an interview with Schiff, Museum President & CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson will facilitate a Q&A with onsite and online audiences.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for onsite guests to enjoy refreshments at a cash bar, purchase signed copies of the featured book, and see a special artifact on display. Onsite tickets for this event include Zoom access and are $20 for general admission and $15 for Museum Members. Online-only tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for Museum Members. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Museum’s Read the Revolution Speaker Series brings celebrated authors and historians to the Museum for lively discussions of their work. The series is based on the Museum’s national Read the Revolution bi-monthly e-newsletters, which have featured excerpts from thought-provoking books to inspire learning about the American Revolution since 2013.

About Stacy Schiff
Stacy Schiff is the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize. Her Cleopatra: A Life was a #1 bestseller, as was Schiff’s 2015 The Witches. Her most recent book, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, was a Wall Street Journal Top Ten Book of 2022 and on President Obama’s list of Favorite Books of 2022. Among other honors, Schiff has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, where she has been named a Library Lion. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has been made a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French government.

About The Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia
The Carpenters’ Company is the nation’s oldest trade guild and professional association. Founded in 1724 by a group of Philadelphia’s master builders, the Company is now a membership organization of leading architects, builders, and engineers. The Carpenters’ Company are also stewards of Carpenters’ Hall, the site of the First Continental Congress, and the original home of Franklin’s Library Company, the American Philosophical Society, and the First and Second Banks of the United States. In 2024 The Carpenters’ Company is celebrating their 300th anniversary, as well as the 250th anniversaries of the First Continental Congress and the completion of Carpenters’ Hall.

About Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. Through the Museum’s unmatched collection, immersive galleries, powerful theater experiences, and interactive elements, visitors gain a deeper appreciation for how this nation came to be and feel inspired to consider their role in ensuring that the promise of the American Revolution endures. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum, which opened on April 19, 2017, is a private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. For more information, visit www.AmRevMuseum.org or call 877.740.1776.