What John Adams Taught a Soon-to-Be Nation About the Rule of Law Versus Mob Rule
John Adams risked his reputation to defend the Redcoats from mob rule. Some prosecutors today are gaining status by attacking their political opponents rather than stand up for the rule of law...
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUEST: Lee Habeeb, creator and host of Our American Stories, a podcast and weekly syndicated radio show.
America was not fully formed in 1770, but the nature and character of the soon-to-be nation—and the importance of the rule of law—were forged by a Boston lawyer who put his nascent political career at risk to defend British soldiers accused of killing five Colonists.
At a time when many Americans fear prosecutors are using their offices to punish political adversaries and curry favor with the public—think no further than cases in Atlanta and New York where publicly elected prosecutors campaigned to "get Trump"—what John Adams did in 18th-century New England is worth remembering. And revering.
Adams was not born to wealth: His father made his living as a farmer and shoemaker. The turning point in the life of the man who would become America's first vice president and second president—his big break—came in the form of a scholarship to Harvard at the age of 15, As David McCullough points out in his biography John Adams, the college then consisted of four buildings and seven faculty members.
At Harvard, Adams cultivated his appetite for reading and studying, which would last a lifetime. After graduating in 1755, he pursued a legal career, which did not include a stint in graduate school (Harvard Law did not open its doors until 1807). He worked by day as a teacher to pay for his legal training with lawyers in and around Boston, launching his legal career in 1758. By 1770, he was one of the busiest and best attorneys in the city.
Then came the moment that tested Adams' commitment to the rule of law. At great risk to his growing practice, he chose to represent the redcoats in the biggest case of his time: the Boston Massacre Trial.
The events leading up to that bloody day on March 5, 1770, were years in the making. In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed Colonists on all kinds of essential products, including paper, paint, glass and tea. Worse, the British headquartered customs officials throughout the city to serve as collection agents and enforcers of the latest trade regulations.
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BIO: Lee Habeeb, creator and host of Our American Stories, co-founded Laura Ingraham’s national radio show in 2001, moved to Salem Media Group in 2008 as Vice President of Content overseeing their nationally syndicated lineup, and launched Our American Stories in 2016. He is a University of Virginia School of Law graduate, and writes a weekly column for Newsweek.
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Lee Habeeb, creator and host of Our American Stories, a podcast and weekly syndicated radio show.