Defending the Unpopular: John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trial
The 1760s brought plenty of political tension between Britain and its colonies. Britain, suffering financially, had enforced tax acts onto the colonies to “repay them” for defending them in the Seven Years' War. The colonists, however, did not take this lightly, arguing that Britain had no right to tax them without representation in their government. On March 5, 1770, a fight broke out between Boston colonists and a squad from the 29th regiment when the crowd taunted and threw objects. The English soldiers fired and left five dead, including a 12-year-old boy. The next day, British Loyalist James Forest begged John Adams to represent Captain Preston and his men. No lawyers had
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Firstly, taking the case may help his future political aspirations. Representing the British Captain in a critical case would show Adams’ legal expertise and ability to handle difficult situations, increasing his reputation as a good lawyer. Furthermore, by taking the case, Adams would be upholding his principles of justice and ensuring that everyone is entitled to a fair trial, as under British law at the time, was not the case. As James Forest claimed, “His [Captain Preston’s] life is in danger, he has no one to defend him. Mr. Adams, would you consider–will you take his case?” Taking the case would make a statement about his policies and image as a fair lawyer. Moreover, he would not just be improving his. According to Reasoning with Democratic Values, Adams told his good friend, Josiah Quincy, “It will serve our enemies well if we publish proof that the people’s cause in America is led by a mere mob.” Taking the case would help change how the rest of the world viewed the colonies. By showing that individuals from the colonies valued justice and fairness, Adams could shut down the negative stereotypes of the colonists and present them as a society that wanted to uphold the law. This evidence shows that John Adams was right to take the case, as it would improve the future of him and the colonies moving …show more content…
RWDV says, “The jury acquitted Captain Preston on the basis of ‘reasonable doubt’ and acquitted six of the eight soldiers. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and thus escaped the death penalty.” Although there were some drawbacks, Adams was right to take the case and defend the Captain and his men. He demonstrated his dedication to the principles of justice and the due process of law, and he helped improve the image of the colonies. The Boston Massacre and its aftermath continue to serve as a reminder of the importance of upholding principles in the face of adversity and a testament to the power of justice and fairness in shaping
While Americans’ criticism was arising, a serious conflict happened on March 5, 1770, among “patriot” mobs, throwing stones, and the British soldiers. Some settlers were killed that time and it led to a campaign that America should be independent from the English. In the fall of 1770, British Captain Thomas Preston and eight of his regulars were tried for the alleged murder of five Boston colonials. At the conclusion of
John Adams defended most of the accused British soldiers because they were charged with murder. But to years later the United states Founding father Samuel Adams named the event the Boston Massacre to help assure it would not be forgotten. John Copley created an image of event. But
This piece of writing wasn’t meant to incriminate the British, and the subject was not about the newly passed act. Instead, this article “discussed British law and how certain liberties and freedom Americans enjoyed was God-given and earned by many generations of Americans.” Adams believed that this act was unconstitutional but had to remain cautious
During the later half of the eighteenth century, tensions increased between the British and their American colonists. In the years following the Seven Years War, actions done by the British government, such as increased taxes and limitations on expansion and settlement of British territory, angered the British citizens of the American Colonies and resulted in violent protests and resistance to British rule. These scuffles and disputes between colonists and soldiers snowballed into the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. During the confrontation, over 200 Bostonian rioters violently assaulted nine British soldiers defending a position, who then fired unordered shots into the crowd, killing five and injuring six. After the massacre, these soldiers stood trial for the killing of citizens and received little to no punishment.
If I was on the jury on the Boston Massacre case I would have voted not guilty. Captain Preston and his men were tricked into firing into the crowd of laborers on March 5, 1770. For example Capt. Preston was asked if he told his men to fire and he answered no because he was standing in front of men making that if his men were to fire he would have sacrificed his very own life. In the John Adams miniseries Goddard said Capt.
On March 5, 1770 the Boston Massacre took place. The Boston Massacre was about a group of British soldiers who killed a group of people during a riot. That is what got colonist to rise up and start an attack. It is said in an online article, BOSTON MASSACRE, that, “ The killings of March 5, promptly termed a “massacre” by Patriot leaders and commemorated in a widely circulated engraving by Paul Revere, aroused intense public protests and threats of violent retaliation.” This massacre was the start of war for colonists.
Call me a tory or not, but the british in the Boston Massacre were not guilty of murder and opening fire on crowd for no reason. The british completely and utterly acted in self defense on March 5,1770. Know you might say well they placed taxes on us… NEWS FLASH… this is about whether this is murder or done in self defense, not taxes. Trust me this king’s Street mess was definitely in self defense.
Hancock would later become a famous signer of the Declaration of Independence. Even the defense attorney John Adams believed that a fair trial was important to show Great Britain
John Adams agreed to work with them because everyone has a fair chance to represent themselves, so John and his partner Josiah Quincy defended the soldiers. These soldiers were tried at Superior Court of Judicature, after three stressful weeks Captain Preston and six of his soldiers were acquitted but two of them were founded for manslaughter. The two guilty were Matthew Kilroy and Hugh Montgomery, these two soldiers were discharged from the military and had the letter ‘M’ branded on their thumbs for manslaughter. I believe that this horrible event occurred because of the King, the colonists were sick and tired of being bossed around. You can’t own guns, you can’t do this you can’t do that, the king kept restricting the colonies.
The Boston Massacre was and still the most debatable massacre. No one seems to know what actually took place on March 5th 1770. They are many different stories written telling on what had happened that day but no one is sure what is facts and what is myth. In this essay I will help evaluate three documents written days after the event happened. One reason why this event took place was because the Parliament passed the Stamp act, which is a way to finance the British Troops in North America.
The tragic events that took place on March of 1770 only took a few hours to progress, but the Boston Massacre is better understood in combination of several historic events. Beginning with a conflict with the British soldiers and finishing with the demise of five colonists, the events of the Boston Massacre took several years to get to. The large presence of British troops in Boston that resulted in the fatal shooting was the direct outcome of the Townshend Acts. The acts passed by British Parliament imposed extra taxes on common products imported into the Colonies.
Although many historians believe that the Boston Massacre was an act of self-defense, it is clear that the incident was murder by the British soldiers. First of all, the soldiers came out with all of their bayonets and other weapons raised. This shows it was murder because the soldiers were prepared to fire into the crowd when they got into the street, not just rescue the sentry. Secondly, after the first round of bullets, the soldiers reloaded and fired again. This is evidence for murder because the soldiers clearly intended to kill more colonists, not just try to scare them off.
Results from the trial lead many to believe justice wasn’t served. Defensive attorney John Adams used tactics to create confusion in the minds of the jurors so they could not be certain what actually took place. This proved to be very effective. Adam noted the crowd had been harassing the soldiers and also attacked them. There was no reliable evidence to back this up and it was generally believed, even if Preston was found guilty, he would be pardoned anyway.
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot”. They were throwing sticks, snowballs, and trash at a group of British troops. The loyalists got very annoyed with the patriots so they shot into the mob killing five. The riot began when around 50 colonists attacked a British sentinel. A British officer called in for additional troops
The Boston Massacre is an event most Americans and British students learn about over the course of their education. In America, we learn that British soldiers fired upon innocent civilians, although this may not have been the case. British historians have referred to the Boston Massacre as the "Incident on King Street". After looking over the "Captain Thomas Preston 's Account of the Boston Massacre", as well as "Boston Massacre Trial Depositions" I believe that American historians should refer to the "Boston Massacre" as the "Incident on King Street". The definition of a massacre refers to an unnecessary and random killing of a large number of individuals.