The day after British soldiers mortally wounded five Americans on a cobbled square in Boston, thirty-four-year-old Adams was visited in his office near the stairs of the Town Office by a Boston merchant, James Forest. Looking back, Adams called his defense of British soldiers in 1770 'one of the most gallant, generous, manly, and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country.' From the University of Missouri-Kansas City: In 1770, as tensions in the colonies were at a fever point, Adams defended the pair at trial and they were found not guilty. He defended two British soldiers who were accused of being responsible for the Boston Massacre The only other father-son presidential duo is George H.W.

He was the only non-Virginian of the first five presidents. In closing, Adams writes that he does 'wish you Success in your benevolent Endeavors to relieve the distress of our fellow Creatures, and Shall always be ready to cooperate with you, as far as my means and Opportunities can reasonably be expected to extend.' 4. According to the census of 1800, the year before Adams wrote this letter, that number had grown to almost 900,000. The 1790 census counted almost 700,000 slaves. Adams also wrongly asserts that 'the practice of Slavery is fast diminishing.' Rather than declining, slavery was growing in America. From the Lehrman Institute:Īdams, despite being opposed to slavery, did not support abolitionism except if it was done in a 'gradual' way with 'much caution and Circumspection.' Adams dismisses radical abolitionist measures as 'produc greater violations of Justice and Humanity, than the continuance of the practice' of slavery itself.

He responded that, while he was opposed to slavery and had never owned a slave in his life, he did not support the abolitionist movement-he thought it was dangerous and potentially destabilizing. In 1801, two abolitionists sent a pamphlet by Warner Mifflin to John Adams. His predecessor, George Washington, owned over 300 slaves at the time of his death. Of the first five American presidents, Adams was the only non-slaveholder.

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