The story is narrated by Adam as he tells the tale of many events that occur in one life altering day. The narrative begins as Adam is being criticized by his father, Moses Cooper, for being lazy and disrespectful. Moses is very judgmental with Adam and does not show him much affection; they don't have what you would call a good father-son relationship. Adam then goes inside the house to talk to his mother and his grandmother, who has always spoiled him and protected him from his father's stern criticism. Again, at the dinner table that night, Moses passes judgment on Adam until a relative of the boy, Joseph Simmons, stops in and enters the scene. Joseph tells the Moses that he has been chosen to write a statement on the rights of man by the committee, the men of the village acting to define their positions on their hopes for liberty from Britain. Adam, being only fifteen years old, is a year too yo

In the middle of that same night, Lexington is awakened by a lone rider with news that the British army has left Boston and is marching towards the village. Adam slips out to join his father and the reverend, who are discussing with the committeemen what their response should be if a thousand or more British troops were to march into Lexington since they only have a seventy-nine man local militia. Adam feeling he has no other option, signs up with the militia and joins his father on the village common. Here Adam is taking his first step to becoming a man, even though his father scolds him for being unprepared for attack.

Adam's movement from adolescence to initial manhood takes place in a little over a day, yet his rapid maturation is perfectly convincing given the significant events of that long day. In addition to Adam developing, the colonists also grew and matured. Throughout the book Adam had complained about being put down by his father and not being considered an adult. As Adam does this, the adult colonials are also complaining about oppression from the British and not being allowed to be independent. As Cousin Simmons's final talk with Adam makes clear, the events of the day will force all the colonists to join the army to drive the British out from Boston. The colonials can no longer simply complain and argue; they must take action as Adam has. Adam's story and the story of his soon-to-be country tie together in that they both have moved from adolesc

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 994
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)