After months of political friction, an altercation between British soldiers and Bostonians broke out on 5 March 1770. With five dead and six wounded, word spread of a "Boston Massacre." Within a day of the conflict, Captain Thomas Preston and his eight soldiers were imprisoned. John Adams represented Preston and his men, with all but two ultimately acquitted.
Explore a selection of materials related to John Adams and the Boston Massacre at the MHS:
The Boston Massacre Trials
John Adams kept notes and wrote an account of the trials, as did others who were involved. View these documents, held by the MHS, for a deeper understanding of the infamous event:
Account of the Massacre trials (1770), Diary and Autobiography of John Adams
Legal Papers of John Adams, Vol. 3: Boston Massacre Trials (1770)
Notes on the Boston Massacre trials, by John Adams, 1770, "Captn. Prestons Case", MHS Collections Online
Notes on the trial of the British soldiers, circa November 1770, by Peter Oliver, MHS Collections Online
Notes at the trial of British soldiers (1770), by Samuel Quincy, MHS Collection Online
The Legacy
John Adams believed the Boston Massacre "contributed more than any other event" to the case for revolution (John Adams to the Abbé de Mably, 17 January 1783). The massacre continued to live in the American imagination for years to come, becoming the subject of orations, exhibits, and correspondence. See its legacy unfold through the materials below:
John Adams' reflections on the Boston Massacre trials (5 March 1773), Diary and Autobiography of John Adams
Description of an exhibit to commemorate the Boston Massacre (7 March 1774), Diary and Autobiography of John Adams
John Adams' reflection on John Hancock's 1774 oration (5 March 1774), Diary and Autobiography of John Adams
Papers of John Adams, vol. 2, Editorial Note
John Adams to the Inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay [6 February 1775], Papers of John Adams, vol. 2
John Adams to Hendrik Calkoen (4 October 1780), Papers of John Adams, vol. 10
John Adams to Le politique hollandais [22 January 1782], Papers of John Adams, vol. 12