John adams defended Britain's reasons.
The British taxation law has made the colonial people in North America unbearable, and the anti-British sentiment is fierce. This group of British soldiers actually shot in the street and killed five civilians. This is already unbearable.
What's more, Adams was originally famous for opposing British oppression. His article supporting people's rights has attracted much attention; Not long ago, four sailors killed British officers for resisting the British army's forcible capture of able-bodied men. This eloquent lawyer also appeared in court to defend them, so that they were exonerated.
but this time, he fought a lawsuit for a group of murderers sent by the king of England with anger. You know, before this, British captains and soldiers who were imprisoned could not even find a few decent people willing to defend them.
This year, the short and fat Adams was 35 years old, nearly 3 years before he became the second president of the United States. He has a big round head, and untidy curly hair curls around his ears. It is said that because of his short legs, when climbing the stairs at the inauguration ceremony, his sword occasionally touched the steps of the building.
But no one can deny that he is an outstanding lawyer. He is eloquent and quick-thinking, and can always grasp the essence of a case quickly. He replied to the British official who asked him to appear in court: "If the captain thinks that he can't get a fair trial without my appearance in court, then I accept the case."
In a city where the British flag is being burned everywhere and the tax collectors are being shown with tung oil, this decision is not easy. Adams faced the abuse and suspicion of "sons of liberty".
And his later performance shows beyond doubt that he has no good opinion of what the British soldiers did, and he doesn't want to gain any benefits by pleasing the British people through this matter.
In that case, I can only look for his motives from his impressive defense. A document recorded the eloquent lawyer's argument as follows: "On the one hand, the law is indifferent to the defendant's begging and crying; On the other hand, they ignore the public's shouts. The law only upholds good and punishes evil. It does not take people's dignity and wealth as the standard, and the law is not influenced by emotions. It will always be rational. "
Through his defense, later generations can also understand the basic context of the massacre: the angry crowd shouted "Kill them", provoked the British soldiers, and threw snowballs, ice cubes and stones at them, and the latter shot back. On this basis, Adams made the following defense in a court full of angry spectators: if a soldier kills a person who insults him while performing his duties, it is a legitimate act.
He also reminded people who were swept away by rage that the right of self-defense is the basis for them to defend their freedom and property. If the self-defense of British soldiers is not recognized, then "we will also cut off the foundation of freedom and property".
he almost won by a wide margin. Six British soldiers, including the captain, were acquitted and two were convicted of manslaughter. This ending disappointed most Bostonians. After that, he was almost discredited and had no lawsuit to fight. Many people suspected that he had become a pro-British faction, while others accused him of being tempted by money-although according to records, he worked hard for this lawsuit for nearly a year, but only got a pitiful agency fee.
In this stubborn man's view, what he serves is not a few soldiers of the government he opposes, but a law made in the name of God. This law "assumes that everyone is innocent and has no right to call anyone a murderer before the court makes a judgment".
The justice of law is not influenced by public opinion, which is the essence of Adams' argument. Angry Boston citizens didn't make him give up his faith-in fact, he was always alert to the fury of public opinion. Previously, he expressed his fear when people who opposed stamp duty smashed the houses of British officials and robbed property. After the French Revolution broke out, as the first vice president of the United States, he resolutely opposed supporting the French revolutionaries.
The atrocities in France convinced him that "the unlimited abuse of power in a democracy is as cruel and tyrannical as that under absolute monarchy." When the head of French King Louis XVI was cut off by revolutionaries, he told a British journalist that mankind will eventually find that if most people lose control, they will become as tyrannical and cruel as unconstrained tyrants.
For a long time, Adams didn't have a good reputation. It has been noticed that his name rarely appears on buildings or monuments, and textbooks only pass him by. Compared with Jefferson, the leader of the War of Independence and the defender of people's rights, he was conservative and stubborn, and deliberately kept his distance from the radicals. These qualities are all reflected in his defense for several British soldiers.
He led the country out of the war with Britain and was the first to move the American government into the White House, but in his later years, he felt that only the defense in 177 was the "most outstanding, wisest, bravest and fairest thing" he did for the United States in his life.