who was the defense lawyer for the soldiers accused of murder at the boston massacre was

What are facts about Boston Massacre?

• It began as a street fight.
• More Than 4,000 British troops invaded the city among 20,000 residents.
• The tax increase caused tension in the city.
• During the victim’s funeral, half of the population of Boston attended.
• One of the victims turned into an anti-slavery icon.
• The Boston Massacre was depicted in the engraving by Paul Revere.

More items...

How many people died from Boston Massacre?

Boston Massacre 1770. Five colonists were killed by British Troops in Boston on March 5th 1770. The event was precipitated by taunts against British soldiers in Boston. The British responded with force and fired their muskets at the Americans, killing 3 instantly and wounding 11. Two of the wounded soon died.

What caused the Boston Massacre?

What Caused The Boston Massacre

• Upper Canada Rebellion Essay. ...
• Boston Tea Party Analysis. ...
• Main Causes Of The American Revolution. ...
• Analysis Of The Star Spangled Banner. ...
• Film Review Of The Film 'The Opium War' The British merchants went back angrily and asked the British government to dispatch troops to China.
• Mahatma Gandhi Movement Analysis. ...
• Coercive Act Dbq

What is a summary of the Boston Massacre?

What is the Boston Massacre summary? The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot” mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.

Who was the British grenadier who was involved in the Boston Massacre?

Photo Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park. The crowd strained forward in the Queen Street courtroom on October 17, 1770. Murmurs and rumblings of anger filled the air. Captain Thomas Preston, a British grenadier, shifted his feet nervously and felt the sweat rising to his brow.

Who was the lawyer who was the only hope for Preston and his men?

That is what these Bostonians wanted! The only hope for Preston and his men lay with this short, stocky country lawyer—a colonial American after all—John Adams, and his too young assistant Josiah Quincy. Seven months had passed since the “horrid, bloody massacre” took place on the 5thof March.

Who was the witness that Adams was questioning?

He had been able to impanel a jury from out-of-town, not a single Boston man among them and, Preston felt, the jury seemed uncommonly thoughtful for upstart colonials! Now Adams was questioning Richard Palmes, a witness most of the crowd recognized, about events that night. Preston could hear Palmes saying,

Why did Adams describe his role as the greatest service I ever rendered my country?

Adams would later describe his role as “the greatest service I ever rendered my country.” Why? In a town where British soldiers were hated, there had been a fair trial by jury. In a land where mobs could sway events, the world saw that justice and liberty were valued as the legal rights of all!

Who was the British officer in charge of the Boston Massacre?

Eight British soldiers and their officer in charge, Captain Thomas Preston, faced charges for murdering five colonists. Not far from the Custom House, a 34-year-old Boston attorney sat in his office ...

Why was the Boston Massacre important?

The Boston Massacre certainly could have led to the revolution six years earlier, but it didn’t because people accepted a very controversial verdict. As we talk about in the book, part of the reason the trial transcript was so important was so anyone who wasn’t in court could still review what the witnesses said. It wasn’t just British soldiers haphazardly firing on colonists.

What happened in Boston on March 6th 1770?

The blood remained fresh on the snow outside Boston’s Custom House on the morning of March 6 , 1770. Hours earlier, rising tensions between British troops and colonists had exploded into violence when a band of Redcoats opened fire on a crowd that had pelted them with not just taunts, but ice, oyster shells and broken glass. Although the soldiers claimed to have acted in self-defense, patriot propaganda referred to the incident as the Boston Massacre. Eight British soldiers and their officer in charge, Captain Thomas Preston, faced charges for murdering five colonists.

Why did Dan Abrams think there was a legitimate defense?

But I also think he learned a little about the case and thought there was a legitimate defense—because the events were not as clear cut as some patriots wanted to make them out to be. He also knew there were a couple of attorneys who said they would take the case as long as he was part of the team.

How old was John Adams when he was a lawyer?

Not far from the Custom House, a 34-year-old Boston attorney sat in his office and made a difficult decision. Although a devout patriot, John Adams agreed to risk his family’s livelihood and defend the British soldiers and their commander in a Boston courtroom. At stake was not just the fate of nine men, but the relationship between ...

Who is the author of John Adams Under Fire?

In the new book John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father’s Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial, Dan Abrams and coauthor David Fisher detail what they call the “most important case in colonial American history” and an important landmark in the development of American jurisprudence. Abrams, who is also the chief legal affairs ...

Did Adams blame the city for the skirmish?

Adams didn’t blame the city for initiating the skirmish. He kept it very, very focused on the facts of this particular instance—what happened, who was there, the specific individuals—and did not make it a broader indictment of the Sons of Liberty and others who had supported violence against the British soldiers.

Who was asked to defend the soldiers and Captain Preston?

The very next day, John Adams received a loud knock on his door. He was asked to defend the soldiers and Captain Preston, as nobody else would take the case. Without hesitation Adams agreed to defend the soldiers and their captain. Above all, John Adams believed in upholding the law, and defending the innocent.

What happened in Boston in 1770?

By the beginning of March, 1770, tensions seemed to reach a boiling point. On the evening of March 5, Private Hugh White was under assault by a crowd of boys throwing snowballs, oysters in their shells, stones and clubs.

What did John Adams believe in?

Above all, John Adams believed in upholding the law, and defending the innocent. Adams was convinced that the soldiers were wrongly accused, and had fired into the crowd in self-defense.

Why did Captain Preston stand in front of the soldiers?

The soldiers formed a half circle around White, with Captain Preston standing in front of his men to keep the peace. According to witnesses, a club flew through the air striking one soldier in the head, which caused him to lose his balance, and discharge his musket.

Who altered the engraving of King Street?

Paul Revere altered an engraving by Henry Pelham commemorating the bloody massacre on King Street to show the redcoats taking great pleasure in firing at the town’s people, and also depicting Captain Preston standing behind his men while giving them the order to fire.

What did the extreme patriots think of the lynching of Preston?

Extreme patriots regarded the absence of a lynching of Preston and his men as proof of the impartiality of Boston justice. John Adams, possessing strong patriotic views by refusing to express them on any terms but his own, sometimes was suspected of a lack of Whiggish zeal.

How many people were acquitted of Adams' crimes?

Six were acquitted, and two were found guilty of manslaughter. (Their punishment was to be branded on the right thumb by the Boston sheriff.) More than this, however, the speech illuminated the core of Adams’s political thought, especially his view of the human material of which politics is made.

How long did it take for Adams to prepare for Rex v. Wemms?

Adams had a week or ten days in which to prepare for the second and final massacre, Rex v. Wemms et al. That the wheels of justice did not turn without lubrication in those days is obvious from the itemized expenses for which Adams later sought reimbursement from the British army.

What inference to be drawn from the Preston verdict?

The inference to be drawn from the Preston verdict was that they had fired without a lawful order. To the Whigs, they were murderers. For the student of John Adams’s life and thought, the most important feature of the second massacre trial was the presence in the courtroom of a shorthand writer.

What was the noble speech that Adams gave to James Forrest?

We have only Adams’s word for the noble speech he delivered to the merchant, James Forrest, but it would not have been out of character: “I had no hesitation in answering that Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused Person should want in a free Country. That the Bar ought in my opinion to be independent and impartial at all Times And in every Circumstance. And that Persons whose Lives were at Stake ought to have the Council they preferred: But he must be sensible this would be as important a Cause as ever was tried in any Court or Country of the World: and that every Lawyer must hold himself responsible not only to his Country, but to the highest and most infallible of all Trybunals for the Part he should Act. He must therefore expect from me no Art nor Address, No Sophistry or Prevarication in such a Cause nor any thing more than Fact, Evidence and Law would justify.” Forrest replied that that was all the defendant wanted. Payment of a single guinea constituted Adams’s retainer.

When did John Adams give his closing arguments?

On the morning of the fourth day, Saturday, October 27, Adams rose to give the first of the defense’s closing arguments. If Preston still harbored doubts about his famous Whig attorney, he soon had reason enough to lay them aside.

Where was John Adams carried?

He was carried along to King Street, where a file of redcoats was formed up at a distance from some blood-stained ice. Nearby two townspeople lay dead; three were mortally wounded. Adams, who had been spending a convivial evening in the South End with members of his club, now thought of home.

Which college re-enacted the Boston Massacre?

Law Students from the University of Notre Dame and Boston College re-enact the final arguments of the Boston Massacre Trial.

What rule of law prevails the Boston Massacre?

The Rule of Law Prevails The Boston Massacre Trial Re-enactment. The Rule of Law Prevails. When a regiment of British soldiers was accused of murdering five colonists in the Boston Massacre of 1770, the attorneys who saved the soldiers’ lives at trial were staunch American patriots. It was not an easy decision to advocate for the enemy.

What was Paul Revere's effect on the Boston Massacre?

Paul Revere’s sensationalized engraving of the Boston Massacre helped motivate colonists’ resentment of British rule. Zealous patriots used the Massacre to foment a rebellion six years later. Paul Revere produced an inaccurate engraving of the scene that circulated widely as anti-British propaganda. John Adams’ cousin Samuel Adams wrote critically ...

What was the significance of the Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre is considered the first match that later exploded into the American Revolution. Yet John Adams saw the trial as an important test of the rule of law. “Even in a politically volatile situation, the law still prevailed,” Bellia said.

What happened to the wigmaker's apprentice?

The incident started with a misunderstanding over a man’s honor. A wigmaker’s apprentice accused a British officer of not paying his bill, taunting a sentry outside the Customs House on what is now known as State Street. It was later discovered that the bill had been settled the previous day.

Why did John Adams risk his law practice?

At first, no one wanted to represent the soldiers, Bellia said, until John Adams risked his law practice for his belief that everyone deserves a fair trial. The jury was asked to determine if the soldiers fired in self-defense; the regiment’s captain and six others were acquitted and two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter.

What was the purpose of the trial of the colonists?

Today, historians see the trial as an early test of the colonies’ legal system, laying the foundation for the United States as a nation ruled by laws rather than the arbitrary decisions of people in power.

Early Life

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, to his father, John Adams Sr., and his mother, Susanna Boylston, and had two younger brothers, Peter and Elihu.

Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a conflict in Boston on March 5, 1770. British soldiers shot and killed many people, perceiving them as a mob, and leading patriots including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams heavily publicized the event.

Boston massacre trial

Following the Boston Massacre, Captain Thomas Preston, eight British soldiers, and five British civilians were charged for murder. They were exposed to the possibility of execution and could not find a defense team as they would have to defend them in the anti-British city of Boston.

Balancing Act of Adams to defend his clients without distancing his fellow Bostonians

These days, criminal defense lawyers regularly take John Adams’s defense of the British soldiers to to represent specific clients. He did not blame the city for initiating the riot and focused on facts.

Conclusion

It is generally unsatisfying to get a mixed verdict in a case involving so much passion and emotion. However, these cases serve as a compelling example, and the Boston Massacre trial was among these trials.

Who was the lawyer who defended the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre?

Thirty-five year old John Adams, a prominent lawyer in Boston who would go on to become the second president of the United States, was asked to take on the unpopular assignment of defending Capt. Preston and the eight British soldiers. Notes on the Boston Massacre trials, by John Adams, 1770, "Captn. Prestons Case" ...

What was the first trial in the Boston Massacre?

The first trial to be held as a consequence of the Boston Massacre was Rex v. Preston. The trial of Capt. Preston, who had been held in jail for seven months, began on 24 October 1770 and the verdict of not guilty was issued a week later on 30 October 1770.

How did the soldiers avoid the death penalty?

The two convicted soldiers were able to avoid the death penalty by invoking "benefit of the clergy", a holdover from early English law which held that secular courts had no jurisdiction over clergymen, and which had become a loop-hole for first-time offenders.

How many British soldiers were indicted in the 1770 massacre?

Although Capt. Thomas Preston, the eight British soldiers under his command, and four civilians were all indicted within weeks of the "Horrid Massacre", none were formally arraigned until 7 September 1770. Court schedules, as well as political maneuverings by Acting Gov. Thomas Hutchinson, further delayed the trials until late October of that year, ...

How long did the Adams v. Adams trial last?

Both trials lasted longer than one day , which was rare at this time for Massachusetts courts. Shortly after the trials, on 15 May 1771, the issue of expenses and wages paid to jurors was argued by Adams, both Quincy brothers and James Otis, Jr.

Who collected and annotated newspapers during the years leading to the American Revolution?

Additional Sources. Boston merchant Harbottle Dorr, Jr., collected, annotated, and indexed many newspapers during the years leading to the American Revolution. Dorr's newspaper collection includes many articles written about the Boston Massacre and the trials.

Who wrote the notes on the trial of the British soldiers?

Notes on the trial of the British soldiers, circa November 1770, by Peter Oliver ... Notes at the trial of British soldiers, circa November 1770, by Samuel Quincy ... Notes on the Boston Massacre trials, by John Adams, 1770, "seemed to come from ...

Who was involved in the Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre was a confrontation on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The event was heavily publicized by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. British troops had been stationed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay since 1768 in order ...

What was the significance of the Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre is considered one of the most significant events that turned colonial sentiment against King George III and British Parliamentary authority. John Adams wrote that the "foundation of American independence was laid" on March 5, 1770, and Samuel Adams and other Patriots used annual commemorations ( Massacre Day) to encourage public sentiment toward independence. Christopher Monk was the boy who was wounded in the attack and died in 1780, and his memory was honored as a reminder of British hostility.

Why were British troops stationed in Massachusetts Bay?

British troops had been stationed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay since 1768 in order to support crown-appointed officials and to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. Amid tense relations between the civilians and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry and verbally abused him.

What did Howard Zinn argue about Boston?

Howard Zinn argues that Boston was full of "class anger". He reports that the Boston Gazette published in 1763 that "a few persons in power" were promoting political projects "for keeping the people poor in order to make them humble.".

What was Boston known for?

Boston was the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and an important shipping town, and it was also a center of resistance to unpopular acts of taxation by the British Parliament in the 1760s .

What happened in the Boston Marathon?

For the 2013 bombing, see Boston Marathon bombing. The Boston Massacre was a confrontation on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The event was heavily publicized by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. British troops had been stationed in the Province ...

Why did Charles Paxton write to Hillsborough?

Boston's chief customs officer Charles Paxton wrote to Hillsborough for military support because "the Government is as much in the hands of the people as it was in the time of the Stamp Act .". Commodore Samuel Hood responded by sending the 50-gun warship HMS Romney, which arrived in Boston Harbor in May 1768.