Post 1: A Controversial Decision

One of the most controversial decisions of John Adams in the series is to defend British soldiers involved in the Boston massacre in court. These soldiers were accused of firing at unarmed civilians and John Adams was their legal representation. Despite knowing that his decision will be vastly unpopular   Adams takes on the case as he believes that everyone deserves a fair trial as he holds up his strong belief in law and justice. Adams is quite a capable lawyer and with the help of his wife Abigail he wins the case.  After the soldiers have been acquitted an outbreak occurs in retaliation to the tea act with a colonist refusing to unload tea from a ship. The British official at the scene calls out the colonist for their actions and is stripped covered in hot tar and feathers while being ridiculed and jeered at by the colonists. The British soldiers are sent to be re tried in  Britain essentially undoing all of Adams hard work. As a result of Adam’s ridicule at the hands of the British he is elected  to the first continental congress as a representative for Boston. When I first saw that John Adams a known patriot defending British soldiers I thought it was contradictory as Adams was one of the first patriots to move towards independence. After I thought about it I decided that Adams was just following his personal beliefs of human rights which served him well in the future.