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A quotation is making its way through the Internet and through right-wing and conservative blogging. It purports to be from Samuel Adams, but without any date or source affixed. Here it is: "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." For some reason, this quotation feels phony to me. I think it might be the combination of an adjectival phrase like "keen on" and the phrase "brush fires of freedom." Those sound 20th-century or even 21st-century to me. Does anyone with expert knowledge of Samuel Adams have any light to shed on this matter? Respectfully submitted, R. B. Bernstein -- R. B. Bernstein * Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law, New York Law School * Adjunct Professor of Political Science and History, Skadden, Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies, City College of New York, CUNY * Moderator and Member of Editorial Board, H-LAW * Member, Board of Directors, American Society for Legal History (2011-2014) * Author, THOMAS JEFFERSON (Oxford, 2003; paperback, 2005) and THE FOUNDING FATHERS RECONSIDERED (Oxford, 2009; paperback, 2011) * rbbernstein@gmail.com, rbernstein@nyls.edu, rbernstein@ccny.cuny.edu --
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