Preview

John Adams And The Boston Massacre Trial

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
204 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Adams And The Boston Massacre Trial
The film’s depiction of the trial differed from the article in the sense that, the men were found guilty of manslaughter, not let go free and the Boston Massacre’s trial was much longer in the article. In the docudrama, once John Adams had defended the soldiers and won the trial, it was shown as if they were able to just walk away from the scene. However, many complications came before they were let go without a death penalty. Also, in the article, the trial of this case occurred seven months after the trial, allowing much anxious uproar to arise around the town. John Adams felt proud to be able to win a trial against something that he didn’t have personal beliefs for. However the outcome was also a possible threat to his family for their

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Adams was the oldest son of Susanna and John Adams, born on October 30, 1735 in Massachusetts. Adams was always a bright student and received good grades throughout his school years. He went to Harvard College and later studied law with an attorney, only to become one of the best attorneys of Boston. Several years later, John Adams met an extremely intelligent woman named Abigail, whom he later married and had six children with. Abigail played a huge role in John’s life, supporting him greatly and helping his career a lot.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Document 3: How does the engraving tell a different story from the above description of the Boston Massacre?…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Boston Tea party was a political protest that took place on December 16, 1773 after the colonists got fed up with paying taxes on British tea. The British parliament put taxes on their imports to America. After colonists thought this was illegal and unfair, the British parliament stopped taxing all goods except tea. Few years later they passed out the Tea Act, which brought out the East India Company to relieve their debt. This company actually earned a lot of money by trading with America but the colonists thought this would put local British tea sellers out of business due to no customers. This led the Sons of Liberty to overthrow 342 crates of tea from the East India Company into the Boston Harbor.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Adams was the only lawyer in Boston to take on the defense case of the British troops for the Boston Massacre. Adams agrees to take on the case, despite its unpopularity, because he believes that all men were entitled to a fair trial and deserved equal justice. He also has a position in Boston’s legislature as motivation, which is not shown in the film. We don’t get to see the rest of the defense team in the docudrama either; Josiah Quincy is left out. All accused men receive their own individual trial. All but two soldiers are acquitted; Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy are charged with manslaughter. Adams wins the case for his client and is elected to a higher position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The very next day we were told to leave the Boston by the Gov.Hutchinson .All the people of the Boston came on the street to insult and curse us .On march 13, the colony attorney general issued 13 indictments for murder. We were accused that the murder was all planned and all of us had revenge in hearts. In March 6 a warrant was issued for the arrest of Captain Thomas Preston and the officer in charge of the troops who did the shooting .Me and other seven soldiers under Preston’s command were clapped into prison later the same day. In a particular witness testified that one or two weeks before shooting , Pvt Killroy had said that “ he would never miss an opportunity ,if he had one to fire on the Boston people .…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Patrick Carr Influence

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    His doctor, Doctor Jefferies, said that Carr did not blame the soldier who shot him. Carr was surprised that they did not shoot sooner. His ‘deathbed testimony’ was presented to court by Dr. Jefferies as follows. With Jeffries repeating what Carr said to him. “Prosecutor- Were the soldiers greatly abused? Jefferies- Yes, they were. Prosecutor- Would they have been hurt if they had not fired? Jefferies- Yes. Prosecutor- So they fired in self-defense? Jefferies- Yes, and he did not blame whoever it was that hit him.” This testimony was believed due to the fact that the jury did not think a dying man or his doctor would lie(Boston). This short excerpt from a newspaper article about the Boston massacre supports Carr’s testimony abiut the soldiers being harassed, “The noise brought people together; and John Hicks, a young lad, coming up, knocked the soldier down but let him get up again; and more lads gathering, drove them back to the barrack where the boys stood some time as it were to keep them in (Boston Massacre Historical).” Carr’s words let the soldier that shot him go free and spread unrest among the colonists. Samuel Adams took…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the episode Join or Die, everything starts at the point of the Boston Massacre, due to the Coercive Acts, and most of the hour is spent on debating and choosing sides in court. After the event occurs, John Adams is asked to represent the English guards in the Massachusetts court of law. After hearing their story, he decided that representing them would only be right and just to the law. The viewers do not get to see John Adams’ planning process in the case, other than accepting it, since it jumps directly to the court scene. Here, the people of Massachusetts proceed in saying that the commander of the English guards, Captain Preston, told his men to fire upon the crowd of civilians. Adams opposes this and provides facts and evidence that contradict every part of the civilian argument, which is how he earns acquittal for the case against the guards. Later, Adams is offered a prominent position in the name of the King, but turns it down, which results in his appointment to the Continental Congress. This is where the episode ends, with Adams leaving his family and riding off to join the Congress.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another area which must be discussed is the metropole responses to acts of resistance in the peripheries. W.A. Speck mentions some British politicians believed duty on Tea was ‘a symbol of parliamentary sovereignty over the colonies’ (Speck, 2015, p.32). It could be argued the reprisal policies following The Boston Massacre demonstrate the metropole believed they had a right to exercise they perceived superiority, as they considered the peoples in the peripheries as children. Measures such as the The Quartering Act could be seen as the metropole exercising to its parliamentary sovereign. As mentioned above, the colonists saw these polices by the metropole is unfair. From a British point of view the acts of resistance were not only caused disruption to profits, it is highly likely some politicians they saw the acts of resistance as…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Adam’s early life and career is comparatively similar to the beginning of the American colonies, having much doubt about what the future held at first, but nevertheless ultimately becoming exceptionally successful and independent. Adams’ first worked as a small-town lawyer, but his prestigious witty logos and ethos approach to cases and issues quickly led him down a pathway of being a…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story "John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution”, author David McCullough discusses how John Adams was asked to defend the British soldiers in court of the soldier’s accusation of man slaughter, following the Boston Massacre. Being such a problematic case that could ruin his reputation, John Adams accepted to defend the soldiers because of his experience in difficult cases, and his strong principles and beliefs. John Adam’s reputation did not even tarnish because of how skillfully he handled the case gaining the respect of the people of Boston.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Adams was a man who believed in the law, and in fair play. If the soldiers could not get a fair trial, were we any better than the British and their high handed ways.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Boston Massacre was a crucial event that occurred on March 5th, 1770. At this point in history, tension was high between the British forces and angry colonists. People of the 13 colonies began to become outraged at Britain for passing unfair laws, such as taxes on goods like tea and paper. A group of men whom had lost their jobs and blamed the British gathered around the Customs House in a riot. Eight British soldiers stood their ground in front of the protesters, both sides becoming more and more outraged at each other. The event quickly escalated after young Edward Garrick is hit with the back of a soldier’s firearm. Private Hugh Montgomery is hit with a club and is the first to fire at the colonists, despite Captain Thomas Preston’s command not to shoot. More men are killed as people began to back away from the scene. The Boston Massacre ends with 5 patriots dead and 6 wounded. As the Independence Hall Association says, “The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War.” The colonists were fed up with Britain and acted on their anger without thinking about what could’ve and did happen. The soldiers ignored their orders not to shoot and turned a riot into a massacre that led to the Revolutionary War. Had both sides controlled their rage and not acted without considering the consequences, the death of 5 people would have been…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Movie Critique

    • 842 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although much of the details around the trial were drawn from actual historical accounts, some minor inaccuracies were presented in the movie. In the movie while Mary Surratt was in jail during the trial, her daughter Anna Surratt was isolated and kept in the Surratt boarding house with a lone guard outside, but in fact Anna Surratt was kept at the Old Capitol Prison until May 11 when she was finally released. She did not go back to the boarding house; instead she went to stay with friends. Also in the movie John Wilkes Booth went immediately inside the theater & killed President Lincoln, but in…

    • 842 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Boston Tea Party

    • 1509 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Cited: Alexander, John K. Samuel Adams: America 's Revolutionary Politician. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. Print.…

    • 1509 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Inherit the wind

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the discussion below, several parts of the movie are compared with the transcipt of the trial. It became a national event, covered by major papers and on live radio. Newspapermen and lawyers crowded the hotel. Even the famous reporter E.K. Hornbeck reported on the trial for The Baltimore Sun. The first major discrepancy concerns the beginning of the case.…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays