It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.

Although widely attributed to Samuel Adams, this line functions more as a modern political aphorism than a securely documented Revolutionary-era remark. Its meaning is that decisive political change often begins not with numerical majorities but with a small, highly motivated group willing to agitate, organize, and persist until broader public opinion shifts. The metaphor of “brushfires of freedom” suggests ideas spreading rapidly once ignited—an emphasis on persuasion and mobilization rather than formal authority. In quotation databases, it is best treated as an “attributed” or “misattributed” saying unless a contemporaneous Adams source can be produced.

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen to set brush fires of freedom in the minds of men.”