Join or Die, part 1 of the HBO's John Adams series, re-emphasized many of the unit 2 objectives you completed for homework. The unrest and rebellion in the colonies were portrayed through the Boston Massacre, response to the Tea Act, the Intolerable Acts, and the formation of the First Continental Congress. As you witnessed, John Adams was a well-respected public figure who at the end of the episode joined the patriot cause. As your extra credit option, respond to ONE of the following topics. Your response should be detailed and at least 15 lines (in the response column) in length.
3 points
1. Describe the Boston Massacre trial. Summarize key arguments of the prosecution and defense (John Adams). Describe the scene in the court room and any significant witnesses. Discuss the significance of the jury’s verdict and the impact it had on John Adams’ professional career.
2. Explain how John Adams’ stance on revolution changed from the beginning of the episode to the end. Use specific examples, like why he decided to defend the British soldiers, his thoughts about the Sons of Liberty, his reaction to restricted individual freedoms, his turning point when he went against the crown of England, and his decision to attend the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
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In the beginning of the movie John Adams was against breaking away from England. He main concern though was being able to uphold the law. When the Boston Massacre happened he was the one who defended the soldiers. He did this because he believed in the law. He was not trying to make a statement, but by doing this he showed how powerful he really was. What made him become a Patriot was when new laws were sent over from England. They took away their rights and the same soldiers that he had just defended were going to be sent to England for a "fair" trail. He decided to join the First Continental Congress because he stood for the law and what the English were doing was breaking it.
ReplyDeleteSome of the key arguments John Adams made was, was the crowd a lawful assembly or not? Also where was Captain Prestan standing? Was he standing in front or behind his troops? Another argument was that was the crowd hold and using clubs as a weapon? Finally what was the crowed screaming at the troops? Did the crowd shout fire, fire or did Captain Prestan give the orders? The sense in the court room was nothing like now a day court rooms. People were just standing around talking and or shouting/cheering. In the court room there was no stand, the people called up to speak just stood at the front of the crowd and answered the questions or gave their statements. The final verdict of the jury was that the soldiers were not guilty which really made the colonist mad. Because John Adams won the trial that opened many opportunities like becoming one of the sons of liberty or something for King Goerge.
ReplyDeleteThe Boston Massacre trial was a key point in John Adam’s life and America separating from Britain. The trial took place in there year of 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts Bay. John Adams’ was the defense for Captain Preston and his troops. The colonists of the courtroom claimed that Captain Preston ordered his soldiers to fire on a group of colonists. John Adams argued that it was self-defense from the rowdy crowd when the soldier misfired. The colonists in the courtroom were a loud group of colonist who would get rowdy when the prosecutor brought someone to the stand. John Adams and the prosecutor asked general questions to the colonists about the night of the massacre and some had different answers then others. One man, Robert Goddard, said that he was standing next to Captain Preston behind his soldiers. Another man, Richard Palms, stated that he was talking to Captain Preston in front of his troops and asked him if he was going to call fire and Preston’s response was “I would be foolish to do so.” Richard Palms, also said that the colonists were daring the soldiers to fire, yelling to them “FIRE! DAMN YOU, FIRE!” This made a hard bargain for John Adams to defend Captain Preston and his soldier to be not guilty.
ReplyDelete2. In the beginning of the episode John Adams supported the King but towards the end of the episode he was soon a patriot. John Adams changed to a patriot because he realized how the British were putting high taxes on everything and giving the people rules they had to follow. When John Adams was elected into the Continental Congress he then realized he was a patriot. Sam Adams also helped in the decision by pointed out what the British were doing to the Colonists to over rule them.
ReplyDelete1. In the Boston Massacre trial, there was a huge crowd in which was very involved in the court room. They were loud, obnoxious, and had no problem interrupting what was going on. It had witnesses from the massacre and John Adams was asking them many questions. Some of the questions he asked were, "Where was Captain Preston standing when the shot was fired?", "Lawful assembly or mob?", and "What was the crowd shouting?" One of the key witnesses was Joseph Bass who proved that Captain Preston was not standing behind the crowd. The final verdict of the Boston Massacre trial was not guilty. The impact this had on John Adams was to lean him towards being a loyalist and being for the law.
ReplyDeleteBoston Massacre trial was based on British Soldiers was shooting on crowds. John Adam was trying to figure out what was going on, so he tried really hard to get enough evidences to prove that British Soldiers were not guilty. The Captain didn’t give the order to fire. The key arguments were everybody has the right to live free. And Captain Preston was not in front of the soldiers. And the crowd was shouting fire. Significant witnesses were Richard Palms and crowds. John Adam was really famous after this trial. He was invited to a trip.
ReplyDeleteThe Boston Massacre began when a small unruly crowd threatened British soldiers to open fire on them. Lawyer, John Adams defended the British troops saying that he was "for the law" of the colonies. Adams wanted to know and argue where Captain Preston was standing, in front of or behind the troops, and if he commanded his British troops to fire or if the crowd dared the troops to. Adams also wanted to know if it was a lawful assembly or mob. In the courtroom Adams and others dressed in fancy clothes and wore big wigs. Richard Palms was one of the significant witnesses called to the stand because he was standing next to Captain Preston at the time the crowd called out to him to fire. The final verdict of the jury was that Captain Preston was accused not guilty along with other British soldiers. This caused John Adams personal career to lead to higher levels and he was later asked to become more involved with politics.
ReplyDeleteAt the start of this film John Adams was a loyalist, but as the film went on he became a Patriot. After the Boston Massacre where British soldiers were tried. John Adams decided to defend the soldiers. He knew he might be hated in Massachusetts but he is for the law, and that's why he defended them. John did not agree with what the Sons of Liberty did; such as boycotting and tar and feathering. He thought that it was brutal and barbarian, and that he looked down upon it. When the Boston Tea party occurred that made the British really angry sending more soldiers in Massachusetts, That's what turned John away from the crown. He decided to join the First Continental Congress to make liberty reign in America.
ReplyDeleteJohn Adams was the lawyer for the Boston soldiers. He defended the case very well. He asked important questions like where did Captain Preston stand? This was important in the trial because if Captain Preston stood in the front he most likely would have not called fire. And the first witness said that he was standing in the back of the soldiers, and that he yelled fire. But Richard palms said he was standing next to Captain Preston the whole time and they heard someone in the back of the soldiers yell it and obviously it wasn't Captain Preston. The verdict was that Captain Preston and his soldiers were not guilty. This had a big impact on John's career because the sons of liberty wanted him to join their group and also the guy in blue talked to John Adams about going over to England to help them.
ReplyDeleteJohn Adams was not always the patriot we know think of today. Actually at first, he was a loyalist. He even defended the British soldiers at the Boston Massacre. He did defend them because he thought what the British soldiers did was right, but because he is for the law. John Adams thought very poorly of the Sons of Liberty. He thought many of their actions were grotesque and inhumane. An example of this is the tar and feather method. He started turning toward the patriot side when the British made the intolerable acts. He said every man was born with certain rights, and no one can take those away. You inherited them through your ancestry. This helped him make his decision to attend the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he would be against the British.
ReplyDeleteThe Boston Massacre trial was caused because of British fire in Boston. The courtroom was full of people, and the people stand in the crowd to testify and yell and cheer while standing, contrary of the trials we hold in courtrooms today. Colonists suggested that a crowed of innocent people were shot at by the British soldiers. Despite what the colonists said, the soldiers argued that they were defending themselves because of abuse placed on them by the people of Boston. John Adams decided to defend the British soldiers in this case. He did this because he wanted to prove that MA is governed by law. During his defense, it became evident that the people of Boston were encouraging the soldiers to fire, almost taunting them and being sarcastic. As the colonists pleaded that Captain Preston was shouting "fire" to his troops, the soldiers argued that the crowd was in fact the ones yelling fire. The jury's verdict had a significant impact on John Adams' career. After loosing a few cases he
ReplyDelete